HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Parliament: Educational Visits

Ben Chapman: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission 
	(1)  what representations he has received on provision of travel and accommodation expenses for schools and other educational institutions visiting Parliament;
	(2)  what proportion of schools and other educational institutions which visited Parliament were from London and the South East in the last year for which figures are available;
	(3)  if he will bring forward proposals to meet some or all of the travel and accommodation expenses incurred by schools and other educational institutions in visiting Parliament.

Nick Harvey: An analysis of educational visits arranged through the Parliamentary Education Service in 2005-06 showed that 64 per cent. of schools were from London and the south east regions. New recording systems are currently being investigated that will allow the Education Service to provide regional breakdowns of visitors from the start of the next academic year in September 2007.
	Several Members have made representations that funding should be found to provide subsidies to encourage schools to visit Westminster as part of the Administration Committee's recent inquiry into visitor facilities at Parliament. As part of its evidence to the inquiry, the Education Service commissioned research with teachers to find out what obstacles might prevent schools from visiting Parliament. 46 per cent. of those teachers who indicated that they were unlikely to visit gave as their reason that the journey would be too expensive. The Committee recommended in its report, Improving Facilities for Educational Visitors to Parliament(1), that the House of Commons Commission, working closely with the appropriate bodies in the House of Lords, should consider the case for subsidising school visits to Westminster from more remote constituencies. The Group on Information for the Public will be presenting proposals for consideration by the Commission later in the year.
	(1) HC 434 2006-07.

Parliament (Joint Departments) Bill

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will place in the Library the response to the consultations held with trade unions in respect of the proposals detailed in the Parliament (Joint Departments) Bill to set up joint departments of the Houses of Parliament and the subsequent transfer of staff; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The trade unions gave evidence to the Cummins review of 2003-04 which led to the proposal for a Joint Parliamentary ICT Department and have been involved in both formal and informal consultation at each subsequent stage. Consultation has taken place through the House of Commons Whitley Committee structure and also through an informal working group in which officials of both Houses and trade union representatives have taken part. Normally such exchanges would be treated as part of discussions carried out in confidence between the management and the unions. Since, however, these consultations relate to the subject of a Bill currently before the House, it was been agreed with the trade union side that copies of the formal letters exchanged to date should be placed in the House of Commons Library.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Elections: Fifth Avenue Partners

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will make a statement on progress by the Electoral Commission with its investigation into donations by Fifth Avenue Partners.

Peter Viggers: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to him of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 791W. The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not intend to make any decision in relation to donations made to the Liberal Democrats by Fifth Avenue Partners Ltd. until it has received confirmation from both the police and the Crown Prosecution Service that legal proceedings would not be prejudiced by it doing so.

Elections: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2007,  Official Report, column 982W, on elections: fraud, on what date the Electoral Commission started working with the Crown Prosecution Service to collate data.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it began discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service on electoral malpractice in 2002, in the context of the Commission's review of the absent voting system in Great Britain. The Commission has continued to discuss the collation of data relating to allegations of electoral malpractice since then.

Elections: Legislation

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will place in the Library a copy of the Electoral Commission's analysis of the Crown Prosecution Service files on alleged offences under electoral legislation, redacting any sensitive information where appropriate.

Peter Viggers: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer to him on this subject of 27 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1481W. The Electoral Commission informs me that the material was placed in the Library of the House on 28 March.

Elections: Local Government

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission if he will place in the Library a copy of the research and findings commissioned by the Electoral Commission from the British Market Research Bureau on perceptions of local elections.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it has placed in the Library a copy of the 2006 local elections and electoral pilot schemes report produced by the British Market Research Bureau. This material is also available on the Commission's website at:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/BMRB FINALREPRTJUNE2006_23028-17200_E_N_S_W_.pdf.

Electoral Register: Second Homes

Oliver Heald: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what guidance the Commission has given local authority returning officers on the definition of a second residence for the purposes of being able to vote in elections at an address other than a primary home.

Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission advises me that it is for the Electoral Registration Officer to decide, in the light of relevant circumstances, whether an applicant is eligible for inclusion on the electoral register through residence at an address in the electoral area concerned. The Commission informs me that its guidance to Electoral Registration Officers reflects the relevant statutory provisions, but does not include any specific advice on the definition of an eligible second residence for the purpose of electoral registration.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Home Information Packs

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what average length of time she expects it to take to prepare a home information pack.

Yvette Cooper: The length of time it takes to complete a home information pack will vary from area to area as there are wide variations in the time it takes to get searches done in different local authorities. However, the search itself does have to be gathered before marketing can begin.

Housing: Yorkshire and Humberside

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps she plans to take to reduce the gap between the cost of housing and the level of incomes in North Yorkshire.

Meg Munn: Government recognise the problem of housing affordability in North Yorkshire and other communities across the country. Central to addressing this is to ensure supply of housing responds far better to need than it has in the past. That is why the Government have set a challenging ambition to increase the supply of additional homes in England to at least 200,000 per annum by 2016.
	The draft Regional Spatial Strategy for Yorkshire and the Humber foresees raising current planned levels of building in North Yorkshire from 2,500 to 3,000 homes per annum, with a target of at least 40 per cent. affordable housing. An examination in public, led by an independent panel has just concluded on this draft. The panel has presented the draft to the Secretary of State, who will publish any 'Proposed Changes' for consultation in the summer.

Supporting People Programme

Andrew Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2007,  Official Report, column 1159W, on the Supporting People programme, when she expects to publish the report on housing-related support through the Supporting People programme.

Phil Woolas: Work to finalise this report is ongoing, and the report will be published when this has been completed, in the near future.

TRANSPORT

Aviation: Noise

Alan Keen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the results of the attitudes to noise from aircraft sources in England study commissioned by his Department in November 2001 into attitudes to noise from civil aircraft sources in England.

Gillian Merron: Provisional findings have been submitted to the Department and are now being subjected to peer review by independent experts. This review is not yet complete, but I anticipate that the results of this study will be available in the summer.

Driving Tests

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what representations he has received on the requirement to reverse around a corner in the Driving Standards Authority driving test.

Stephen Ladyman: The reversing manoeuvre has been a requirement of the driving test since its inception in 1935. The only representations on this topic recorded are questions about the fault analysis and how candidates have failed on test.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the number of additional passengers using Heathrow airport resulting from the increase from 480,000 movements per year to 720,000 per year.

Gillian Merron: The Future of Air Transport Progress Report December 2006 suggested that a third runway at Heathrow airport could support up to 720,000 movements a year, or 128 million passengers per year. This would imply an additional 61 million passengers per year compared to 2006 (471,000 movements, 67 million passengers).

Public Transport: Concessions

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what date the national concessionary fares scheme will commence.

Gillian Merron: In the 2006 Budget the Chancellor announced that from April 2008 people aged 60 and over, and disabled people, would be able to travel free on all off-peak local bus services anywhere in England. The Concessionary Bus Travel Bill which provides for the national concession is now before Parliament.

Railways: EC Countries

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department collects on railway  (a) passenger and  (b) freight journeys in other EU countries for benchmarking UK performance; and what EU-wide targets are relevant to railway usage.

Tom Harris: The Department for Transport does not separately collect information from other EU countries but makes use of a wide range of external sources, including the International Railway Union (UIC).
	In addition the UK is taking a leading role in the European Commission's Rail Market Monitoring working group, which is collating statistics relating to the EU's national railways.

Railways: Litter

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of Network Rail on litter on the track and railway land; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Harris: None. Responsibility for the clearance of litter from the operational infrastructure is an operational matter for Network Rail. Network Rail has its own operational arrangements and policies relating to clearance, consistent with current legislation.
	The hon. Member should contact Network Rail's Chief Executive at the following address, should he require further information on this subject.
	John Armitt
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	40 Melton Street
	London NW1 2EE

Railways: Overcrowding

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which train services in the last 12 months were the most heavily loaded on  (a) the east coast main line,  (b) the west coast main line and  (c) the trans-Pennine line according to the most recent passenger census.

Tom Harris: I understand from train operators concerned that, based on the most recent passenger counts undertaken by the train operators, the most heavily loaded services on each route requested are as follows:
	East coast main line—the 7.14 am Royston to Kings Cross service, operated by First Capital Connect.
	West coast main line—the 7.34 am Bletchley to Euston service, operated by Silverlink.
	Trans-Pennine routes—the 6.49 am Manchester Victoria to Leeds via Rochdale service, operated by Northern Rail.

Railways: Passengers

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what change there has been in the number of rail passenger journeys since 1997.

Tom Harris: The number of rail passenger journeys has grown by 35 per cent. since 1996-97. In 2003-04 for the first time since 1961, over one billion rail journeys were made, and the number of rail journeys increased further in 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	Statistics on rail usage are published by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) in the National Rail Trends quarterly publication, which is available in the House Library or from their website:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk.

Railways: Standards

Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his targets for railway punctuality and reliability have been met.

Tom Harris: The March 2006 target of 85 per cent. punctuality and reliability was met with performance reaching 86 per cent. by that date. I am now building on this success and a new target for March 2008 of 89.4 per cent. punctuality and reliability has been set. Punctuality on the passenger railway over the past year has averaged 88 per cent.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Departments: Buildings

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many buildings are owned by his Department; and what the value is of each.

Peter Hain: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its agencies and NDPBs, owns 29 buildings. The following table lists the buildings and their values.
	
		
			  Building  Value as at 1 April 2007 (£) 
			 NIO Residential Property 112,413 
			 NIO Residential Property 185,150 
			 NIO Residential Property 158,700 
			 NIO Residential Property 244,663 
			 NIO Residential Property 185,150 
			 NIO Residential Property 198,375 
			 NIO Residential Property 198,375 
			 NIO Residential Property 152,088 
			 NIO Residential Property 211,600 
			 NIO Residential Property 257,888 
			 NIO Residential Property 231,438 
			 NIO Residential Property 218,213 
			 NIO Residential Property 92,575 
			 NIO Residential Property 99,188 
			 NIO Residential Property 112,413 
			 NIO Residential Property 119,025 
			 NIO Residential Property 132,250 
			 NIO Residential Property 85,963 
			 NIO Residential Property 99,121 
			 NIO Residential Property 85,896 
			 NIO Residential Property 244,663 
			 NIO Residential Property 119,025 
			 NIO Residential Property 191,762 
			 NIO Residential Property 211,600 
			 NIO Residential Property 198,375 
			 NIO Residential Property 165,313 
			 Mounteden Storage Facility 156,060 
			 Maryfield Offices 3,264,509 
			 Hillsborough Castle 81,767,925

Dogs: Theft

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many dogs were reported stolen in each police district command unit area in Northern Ireland in  (a) each of the past 12 months and  (b) each of the previous three years, broken down by breed; how many of the dogs were recovered; how many people have been prosecuted for this crime over the same period; and what sentence was imposed in each case where no legal proceedings are outstanding.

Paul Goggins: The PSNI have advised that this information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud

Vincent Cable: To ask the Prime Minister when  (a) he has and  (b) his officials have met (i) Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud since 1 January 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Tony Blair: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Measures: EC Action

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to legislate to remove restrictions on the use of imperial measures; and whether he will issue revised guidance on prosecution to trading standards officers following the implementation of the revised policy outlined in the EU Trade and Industry Commissioner's recent statement on weights and measures.

Malcolm Wicks: The Government have no such plans. Supplementary indications in non-metric units are currently permitted under section 8 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985. The European Commission has outlined its intention to propose the continued authorisation of such indications for an indefinite period beyond 2009.

Measures: EC Action

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether following the implementation of the revised policy outlined in the EU Trade and Industry Commissioner's recent statement on weights and measures it will become legal to sell  (a) loose bananas by the pound,  (b) timber in feet and inches,  (c) fabric in yards,  (d) beer in pints and  (e) petrol in gallons in the UK.

Malcolm Wicks: The European Commission has indicated it will propose an extension of the authorisation to use supplementary indications without further time limit beyond 2009. This will allow the present position of dual labelling in both metric and non-metric units to continue indefinitely. No changes are proposed to the primary units of measurement currently authorised for each of the purposes listed above.

Post Offices

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 894W, on post offices, on what date his Department will  (a) complete its analysis of responses to the Post Office network consultation and  (b) publish its response to the consultation.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government have given consideration to the responses to the Post Office network consultation and expect to publish their response shortly.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Cultural Heritage

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to implement the policy in the Heritage Protection for the 21st Century White Paper to clarify and strengthen protections for World Heritage Sites; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: DCMS is working with the Department for Communities and Local Government to prepare a joint planning circular which will provide updated policy guidance on the level of protection and management required for World Heritage Sites as announced in the White Paper Heritage Protection for the 21st Century.
	We also intend to consult on a draft amendment to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to include World Heritage Sites as Article 1(5) land, thereby putting World Heritage Sites on the same footing as other protected areas such as conservation areas, National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, where permitted development rights are more restricted.
	We plan to issue these proposals for consultation in Summer 2007.

Cultural Heritage

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department is taking to comply with the recommendations of UNESCO's Mission to London on the protection of World Heritage sites.

David Lammy: My Department has worked closely with key stakeholders with an interest in both Westminster and the Tower of London World Heritage Sites to respond to the findings of the World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission to London. A full report will be made to the World Heritage Committee ahead of their meeting on 23 June.

Cultural Heritage

Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions her Department has held with the Greater London Authority on its policy on  (a) the development of tall buildings in London and  (b) the impact of such buildings on areas in London with World Heritage Site status.

David Lammy: My Department has had continuing discussions with all the stakeholders on the impact of development on the Westminster and Tower of London World Heritage Sites, including the Greater London Authority.
	Mayoral policy on tall buildings is set out in the London Plan which was published in February 2004. There are no proposals to change this policy in the Further Alterations to the London Plan which are currently under consideration. The Mayor is aiming to publish the London View Management Framework shortly. This document will set out his detailed approach to consideration of development that may impact on a number of London's key views including World Heritage sites.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many staff funded by the public purse in her Department are classified as people without posts.

David Lammy: In the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, there are no staff funded by the public purse who are classified as people without posts.

Licensing Laws

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when she expects to publish the results of the review of the guidance related to the Licensing Act 2003.

Shaun Woodward: The public consultation on draft revised Guidance closed on 11 April this year. We intend to issue the final revised Guidance in June.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans the Government have to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

David Lammy: Currently, there are no plans to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Television: Telephone Services

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many complaints she has received regarding television quizzes on Channel 5.

Shaun Woodward: The Department has received no complaints regarding television quizzes specifically on Channel 5. We have received 25 representations about premium rate telephone competitions covering all television channels. Formal complaints are a matter for the independent regulators, Ofcom and ICSTIS.

TREASURY

Departments: Ministerial Responsibilities

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how much time he expects to spend exercising his ministerial functions between 10 May and 27 June;
	(2)  if he will list his public engagements for the next seven weeks.

John Healey: As ever, the Chancellor will continue to exercise his duties in full.

Exports: Defence

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what powers are available to enforce  (a) UN and  (b) EU sanctions on export of goods with military applications to Sudan; what reports he has received of the export of such goods by (i) Dallex Trade and (ii) Land Rover to Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the enforcement authority for export licensing controls on military goods. An exporter attempting to export military goods from the UK to any destination without a valid export licence is committing an offence under Section 68 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 1979. The provisions of CEMA provide HMRC officers with wide ranging enforcement powers to investigate offences and to seize unlicensed goods. Should an investigation reveal sufficient evidence of an offence then the case will be referred to the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO). The RCPO will then consider whether to commence criminal proceedings.
	EU and UN arms embargoes prohibit the export of military goods to Sudan. Military goods are defined as all goods listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods, Transfer of Technology and Provision of Technical Assistance (Control) Order 2003. Non-military goods which may have a military application are not subject to export licensing controls and therefore HMRC enforcement powers do not apply.
	Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 provides that HMRC may not disclose information held in connection with a function of HMRC unless there is lawful authority. HMRC is therefore unable to disclose information in relation to specific campaigns.

General Registry Office for England and Wales: IT

John Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the operation of the IT system at the General Registry Office for England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Registrar General, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 May 2007:
	As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what assessment has been made of the operation of the IT system at the General Registry Office for England and Wales. (137126)
	A number of IT systems are operating at the General Register Office (GRO), the most recent of which was introduced in March 2007 to enable the registration of births, deaths and stillbirths in local registration offices. Despite extensive testing and piloting, the new system encountered difficulties when implemented country-wide, although in some areas it has worked well. Local authorities have therefore been given the option of using the new system or reverting to the previous system, which remains available.
	The public will be able to register events as normal in all areas. The new system is currently in use in just over half of the registration districts in England and Wales. It will be reintroduced in other areas as soon as possible but subject to further stringent testing to ensure it will work as intended.

Market in Financial Instruments Directive

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many EU member states have transposed the Market in Financial Instruments Directive into national legislation; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Balls: holding answer 9 May 2007
	As I said in my answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, columns 405-6W, the Commission currently reports that the UK, Ireland and Rumania have notified their transposition of both MiFID Directives. Lithuania has reported it has transposed the Level 1 MiFID Directive.
	This clearly leaves the majority of member states still to complete transposition. Timely implementation of MiFID is essential if firms are to have opportunity to prepare for launch in November and I have written to Commissioner McCreevy on this very subject urging him to maintain the pressure on member states.
	The Commission has asked all member states to confirm when they will complete transposition of the two MiFID directives and this information is available at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/internalmarket/securities/isd/mifid_ implementation_en.htm.
	By the end of the summer, the majority of countries plan to have completed transposition.

Smith Institute

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what  (a) Smith Institute and  (b) SI Events Ltd events have been booked for No. 11 Downing street in (i) July and (ii) August 2007.

John Healey: The Smith Institute asked in 1997 to use the facility for seminars on a once a month basis and sometimes, when they are conducting a series of seminars, on a more regular basis. Ministers agreed to that request.

Ministerial Meetings

Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what matters he discussed with President Bush on his recent visit to Washington DC.

John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer met President Bush on 13 April 2007. I refer the hon. Member to the Chancellor's interviews and statement given at the end of the IMFC meeting in Washington on 14 April.

VAT: New Businesses

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were tasked with processing new business VAT number applications in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales and Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months, broken down by grade.

John Healey: At 30 April 2007 the National Registration Service had in the region of 316 staff employed in the processing of VAT registration applications.
	Figures are not available on a monthly basis as the deployment of staff across the service and between work streams changes frequently to deal with changes in work priorities and volumes. HMRC do not record separate figures for England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland.

VAT: New Businesses

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time taken was to process new business VAT number applications in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales and Northern Ireland in each of the last 12 months.

John Healey: The average time taken to process an application for VAT registration for the following months was:
	
		
			  Month  Average time taken (in days) 
			 April 2006 32 
			 May 2006 34 
			 June 2006 33 
			 July 2006 31 
			 August 2006 29 
			 September 2006 28 
			 October 2006 24 
			 November 2006 23 
			 December 2006 24 
			 January 2007 30 
			 February 2007 29 
			 March 2007 29 
		
	
	HM Revenue and Customs do not record separate figures for England, Scotland Wales and N. Ireland.

VAT: New Businesses

Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new businesses in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales and Northern Ireland applied for VAT numbers in each of the last 12 months.

John Healey: The following number of businesses applied for VAT registration in the UK:
	
		
			  Month  Number of new businesses 
			 April 2006 23,014 
			 May 2006 26,474 
			 June 2006 25,658 
			 July 2006 22,130 
			 August 2006 24,257 
			 September 2006 20,830 
			 October 2006 23,956 
			 November 2006 24,214 
			 December 2006 16,629 
			 January 2007 24,430 
			 February 2007 26,477 
			 March 2007 27,107 
		
	
	HM Revenue and Customs do not record separate figures for England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farmers in Lancashire are owed  (a) all and  (b) part of single farm payments.

Barry Gardiner: Detailed analysis of all the payments made under the Single Payment scheme is not yet available. Once the remaining scheme payments have been completed, a decision will be taken on the level of detail that will be published.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the changes to eligibility for common land in the Single Farm Payment scheme.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 15 May 2007
	There have not been any changes in the eligibility rules relating to common land under the Single Payment scheme. However, a number of industry representatives have raised issues in relation to how those rules are applied in practice and these will be considered further with those concerned.

Departments: Paper

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of paper used  (a) for photocopying and  (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last three years.

Barry Gardiner: From information held centrally, the figures are as follows:
	
		
			   Copier  Publications 
			   T onnes  Percentage  T onnes  Percentage 
			 2004-05 382.1 98 1,049.2 90 
			 2005-06 235.8 100 874.4 96 
			 2006-07 318.7 100 547.9 97 
		
	
	DEFRA's sustainable procurement policy is to adhere to the highest standards of recycled paper. DEFRA currently buys paper that contains 75 per cent. recycled fibre for coated paper used in publications and for office paper (copier) and publications using uncoated paper there is a target 100 per cent. recycled fibre.
	The only exceptions to these standards are where recycled paper is not available for a specific process e.g. security paper. Meeting the targets owes much to the fact that a considerable proportion of DEFRA's printed publications are commissioned from a single central business unit using a centrally negotiated contract for recycled paper.

Gangmasters

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of gangmasters in  (a) Cambridgeshire,  (b) Norfolk and  (c) Lincolnshire;
	(2)  what steps are being taken to ensure that migrant workers are not exploited by unregistered gangmasters;
	(3)  what steps are being taken to ensure that gangmasters are complying with the law on the minimum wage.

Barry Gardiner: As of 4 May 2007, there were 57 gangmasters in Cambridgeshire, 37 in Norfolk, and 146 in Lincolnshire. This includes registered gangmasters and those in the process of applying for licences.
	The Gangmasters (Licensing) Act 2004 protects workers from exploitation and reduces illegal activity. The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) was set up to curb the exploitation of workers in the agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging industries. It is now illegal to supply workers to the agriculture, food processing and packaging, and shellfish gathering sectors without a GLA licence.
	The GLA enforces the criminal offences in the Act on behalf of DEFRA by:
	(i) Investigating criminal offences under the Act and identifying Labour Providers and Labour Users operating illegally
	(ii) Engaging other government departments in joint investigative activity of mutual benefit to tackle illegal activity by Labour Providers
	(iii) Providing a visible presence to deter, disrupt, or displace illegal activity.
	Any person employed in the UK is entitled to be paid at least the appropriate minimum wage rate set out in minimum wage legislation. This includes all foreign nationals legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom. If a worker considers they might have been underpaid, they should contact the relevant minimum wage enforcement authority who will arrange for the matter to be investigated.
	In addition, compliance with minimum wage legislation represents one of the licence conditions that a gangmaster must meet in order to obtain a gangmaster's licence. Gangmasters who fail to meet this requirement will have their licences revoked by the GLA.

ICT: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total expenditure was from inception to termination on  (a) the Catalyst Project and  (b) the Phoenix IT Project; and what the projected cost was on the launch of each project.

Barry Gardiner: The total expenditure from inception to termination on  (a) the Catalyst Project and  (b) the Phoenix IT Project, was as follows.
	 (a) £12.6 million. This included costs of a large pilot and of preparing for the wider programme, which was not rolled out. The initial funding bid for an Electronic Document and Records Management project (SR2002) was £14.7 million.
	At the point at which the pilot was launched the estimate for the pilot and initial rollout was £13.6 million.
	Following a pilot of the Catalyst project, aimed at developing a central repository of electronic information for the whole of DEFRA, it was decided not to proceed to full roll out because the business benefits no longer demonstrated good value for money and Catalyst alone could not sufficiently meet DEFRA's long term information and knowledge management requirements.
	The Catalyst system is still maintaining the documents and records deposited by pilot users and the lessons from the project have been built into a new approach to information and records management now being rolled out across DEFRA.
	 (b) £4.0 million. The estimated costs at commencement of the project was £2.6 million.
	The Phoenix project suffered a series of delays and cost increases. It reached a point where continued investment could not be justified relative to other priorities and so had to be cancelled.
	However, the project resulted in completed work on a number of key functional documents, particularly the System Requirements Specification, Logical Data Model, and Functional Use Cases, which were agreed by the stakeholders and base-lined.
	These together with the other completed documents in the Project library provide all of the information necessary to support the definition of a future technical solution within Animal Health's Business Reform Programme.

Poppies: Licences

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much revenue was generated from issuing the licences for the growing of poppies in each of the last three years; and how many hectares of land were used for the purpose in each year.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 14 May 2007
	The Home Office issue permission letters, free of charge, to growers of poppies (Papaver Somniferum) who meet specified criteria.
	The cultivation area of poppies was approximately 1,978 hectares in 2004, 1,650 hectares in 2005 and 774 hectares in 2006.

Rural Development Programme: Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what account he took of the size of the budget for the draft Rural Development Programme for England 2007 to 2013 in deciding on the inclusion of measures relating to animal health and welfare in the draft Programme.

Barry Gardiner: The Rural Development Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005), offers a broad menu of measures which member states can choose from. With finite resources, we have to target funding on those measures which best meet our policy priorities while delivering value for money. In England, we have decided to focus the programme on environmental outcomes, in particular by maintaining our commitment to environmental stewardship.
	A number of the measures we are including in the programme will be capable of supporting animal health and welfare objectives, such as those targeting training and knowledge transfer.

Rural Development Programme: Animal Welfare

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the England Implementation Group was asked to comment on the draft Rural Development Programme for England 2007-13 prior to its publication on 13 April.

Barry Gardiner: The draft Rural Development Programme for England 2007-13 has been published for public consultation, together with an environmental report on the programme's likely overall impact, as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment process. The England Implementation Group was not consulted prior to the launch of this consultation on 13 April. It will remain open until 5 July and we look forward to any response the group makes.

Sheep: Imports

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many heavy lambs were imported into the UK in each month of the last two years.

Barry Gardiner: The following table gives the number of live lambs recorded as imported into the UK from March 2005 to February 2007 (the most recent two years available). In this period no trade was recorded from March 2005 to October 2006. Note, it is not possible to identify different weight groups of lambs.
	Please note these figures are obtained using VAT records and will exclude some EU trade for businesses which are below the VAT threshold. As a result, actual trade levels may be higher than those given.
	
		
			  Lambs (up to a year old) 
			   Number of head 
			  2006  
			 November 7,586 
			 December 12,947 
			  2007  
			 January 5,587 
			 February 2,730 
			  Note 2006 and 2007 data are subject to amendments  Source:  HM Revenue and Customs Data prepared by Trade statistics, Agricultural Statistics and Analysis, DEFRA

Wild Boar

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects  (a) to finalise and  (b) to publish his Department's policy on wild boar management.

Barry Gardiner: holding answer 15 May 2007
	DEFRA has already consulted on this issue. Based on all the available evidence regarding the impacts of feral wild boar, work is currently underway on a detailed risk assessment to help inform the final policy.
	It is intended that a policy decision will be made towards the end of 2007 which will be published as soon as practicable.

SCOTLAND

Departments: Computers

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) instructions are issued to staff in his Department and  (b) technical procedures are in place to shut down computers at night.

David Cairns: The Scotland Office shares an information technology system with the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the development, administration and maintenance of the system. The Executive has adopted an environmental policy aimed at improving its environmental performance and reducing the environmental impacts of its own activities and operations.
	As part of this initiative, staff are instructed to shut down their PC when not in use or when they intend to be away from their desk for more than 30 minutes. They are also asked to switch off the monitor each time their PC is powered down; this is because it still uses energy even with the base unit switched off.
	In addition, IT security procedures for the IT infrastructure, including all corporate servers and workstations, ensure that they are protected by approved screensaver software which locks the PC from user access after 10 minutes of inactivity and requires secure log-on identification by the user before reactivating.

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in the financial year 2006-07.

David Cairns: Hospitality expenditure in the financial year 2006-07 for the Scotland Office and the Offices of the Advocate-General for Scotland amounted to £23,410.69.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people took sick leave for stress in his Office in the last 12 months; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents.

David Cairns: No staff took sick leave for stress in the last 12 months.

Oil: Prices

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister on the impact of fluctuations in oil prices on the Scottish economy.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend holds regular meetings with the First Minister, including discussions on the oil industry. While oil is a commodity whose price is determined at global level and is subject to regular fluctuations, we are actively engaged on issues that the Government can influence. These include employment opportunities within the sector and the competitive fiscal regime which the UK oil and gas industry benefits from.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Africa: Agriculture

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to improve food production rates in sub-Saharan Africa; and what steps have been taken to improve the  (a) development of irrigation systems and  (b) replenishment of soil through fertilizers.

Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting an increase in food production and productivity in Africa in two main ways.
	Firstly, we are providing financial support to Africa's own efforts to increase agricultural productivity through our support to the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development initiative, the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Plan (CAADP), and through direct support to governments and partners to help poor farmers. Programmes include improving access to agricultural inputs, and transferring new technologies and skills to farmers to help them produce more. We will double to £80 million per year our expenditure on agricultural, fisheries and forestry research by 2010. About two thirds of this will benefit Africa directly.
	Secondly, we are helping keep small-scale farmers productive after shocks like drought. With support from DFID, African governments are able to provide small, timely transfers of adequate amounts of cash, food or agricultural inputs. For example, in Ethiopia we have provided over £70 million to the Productive Safety Net Programme—giving 7.2 million people cash and food transfers.
	The Commission for Africa recommended that donors should support a doubling of irrigated area by 2015. Irrigation is also an important element of the first pillar of CAADP. DFID is a strong supporter of CAADP and has provided £5 million to speed up its implementation by African governments. DFID is also one of the main supporters of the Nile Basin Initiative, which is an African-led regional process for sustainable management of the Nile, including for irrigation.
	DFID recognizes the need to increase fertilizer use in many African countries so as to replenish the soils and improve food production in combination with complementary measures, such as improved seed varieties, irrigation and soil conservation. Improving fertilizer access is one component of CAADP. DFID co-funded an Africa Fertilizer Summit in July 2006. Over the past five years, DFID has committed around £50 million to finance fertilizer-related programmes in Africa, which were executed through non-governmental organisations, government ministries and the UN. In Malawi, for example, DFID has provided support to help small-scale farmers acquire fertilizer. A recent evaluation has shown that the fertilizer and seed subsidy programmes in Malawi have led to additional maize production of 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes and 600,000 to 700,000 tonnes in 2005-06 and 2006-07 respectively, after taking into account better than average rainfalls. The value of the additional maize production in 2006-07 amounts to about $200 million based on import parity prices, about 9 per cent. of 2006 GDP.

Africa: Infrastructure

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to help improve the  (a) energy and  (b) telecommunications infrastructure of impoverished countries in Africa, with particular reference to (i) power cables and (ii) fibre-optic cables for internet usage.

Hilary Benn: The Commission for Africa highlighted poor infrastructure as a critical barrier to accelerating growth and reducing poverty. In response to this, DFID took a lead in establishing the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa in 2005. This brings together donors and African institutions to address critical constraints and increase investment in Africa's infrastructure. In 2006 Consortium members committed $7.7 billion to African infrastructure. The power sector is a particular priority—both to increase generation capacity and power transmission cable systems for greater regional connectivity. DFID provides no direct funding of power cables, for which finance is available from development banks such as the World Bank and African development banks. DFID has, however, provided $150,000 for preparation of the East African Submarine Cable System project. This fibre optic cable will link eastern and southern Africa to the international fibre optic system and will support high speed and high quality internet connections.

Developing Countries: Water

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to reduce pathogens in the water supply of impoverished countries.

Hilary Benn: DFID provides funds for water resource management, water supply and sanitation programmes either directly to developing country governments or through NGOs or UN agencies such as UNICEF. DFID spent £242 million in this area in 2005-06. We ensure that the water provided by us (multilaterally and bilaterally) meets approved national water quality guidelines or those of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Improving sanitation is a particularly effective way of reducing the number of pathogens in water sources and is usually included as a component of water supply programmes. More specifically, DFID has supported the preparation of WHO's water safety plans that take a comprehensive risk assessment and management approach to each step in the provision of water from the source of the water to the consumer. We have piloted these plans in India, Bangladesh, Kyrgyz Republic and Uganda.
	We are increasing our expenditure on water: in Africa this will reach £95 million per year by 2007-08 and double to £200 million per year by 2010-11.

Palestininans: Education

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid was given to the Palestinian Authority to spend on education in the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps his Department takes to ensure that aid given to the Palestinian Authority is not spent on educational text books that promote violence and terrorism.

Hilary Benn: Since the formation of the Hamas government in March 2006, the UK and other members of the EU have not provided support through the Palestinian Authority (PA). Instead, in order to help meet the basic needs of the Palestinian people, the European Union established a Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) in June 2006. Since then the UK has committed £15 million and the European Community around £140 million to the TIM. Other donors have also contributed. The TIM is providing almost £10 million for educational materials to schools in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This does not include textbooks. It has also provided over £45 million in allowances for 37,000 school and university staff.
	Before the January 2006 election, the US Consulate General in Jerusalem reported that it was content with the efforts being made by the Palestinian Ministry of Education to ensure that its curriculum promoted peace and tolerance. Since then, both textbooks and the examined content of courses have not changed. We have no evidence that the Hamas government or the subsequent National Unity Government have put pressure on schools to promote violence or terrorism.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on hospitality by his Department in the financial year 2006-07.

Anne McGuire: The estimated spend on hospitality for the Department of Work and Pensions for 2006-07 is £188,000.
	Any expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Propriety and Regularity.

Factories: Kirby

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the health and safety performance of Sonae (UK) Ltd following the change in management in October 2002.

Anne McGuire: The health and safety performance of Sonae (UK) Ltd. has improved following the change in management in October 2002. Since then, there have been no incidents leading to prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and no enforcement notices have been served by HSE. Inspectors who have visited the site since the end of 2002 have been confident that the company have made good progress in managing health and safety.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have already received payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme will be eligible for increased payments following the new higher cap on assistance payments; and whether any increase will be paid retrospectively.

James Purnell: 20 people who have already received payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme will be eligible for increased payments following the proposed new higher caps on assistance payments. Increases will apply retrospectively and arrears will be paid back to when the member's entitlement began.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received  (a) 80 per cent.,  (b) 65 per cent. and  (c) 50 per cent. of their expected core pension under the financial assistance scheme; and if he will make a statement.

James Purnell: As at 27 April 2007, 204 members are receiving 80 per cent of their expected core pension under the financial assistance scheme (FAS) and a further 931 members are receiving initial payments topping up to the 60 per cent. level of their expected core pensions.
	Under the current scheme no members are receiving 65 per cent. or 50 per cent. of their expected core pension because members for whom this is applicable will not become eligible for those payments before 15 May 2011 and 15 May 2015 respectively. Our announcement of increased funding for FAS will ensure that by then all will receive 80 per cent.
	Payments commence at age 65, except in special circumstances where early access to payments can be applied for by scheme trustees for terminally ill qualifying members or to the survivor of a qualifying member. FAS can only consider making annual payments when a scheme has completed the winding up process.

Lone Parents: Income Support

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents  (a) were claiming income support and  (b) have been claiming income support for more than five years in May 1997.

Jim Murphy: As at May 1997, there were 1,014,200 lone parents in receipt of income support. Of those, 328,000 had been in receipt of the benefit for five years or more.

New Deal Schemes: Rotherham

Denis MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Rotherham received assistance from the New Deal in each year since 1997.

Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  New Deal in Rotherham 
			  Period  Individual starts  Individual jobs 
			 January to December 1998 660 360 
			 January to December 1999 540 400 
			 January to December 2000 480 420 
			 January to December 2001 500 360 
			 January to December 2002 560 390 
			 January to December 2003 690 500 
			 January to December 2004 590 480 
			 January to December 2005 730 330 
			 January to December 2006 840 350 
			 January to February 2007 200 — 
			 Total 5,900 3,710 
			  Notes:  1. Latest data for people into jobs through New Deal is to the end of November 2007; latest data for starts to New Deal is to February 2007.  2. Programme start dates are: New Deal for Young People: January 1998; New Deal 25 plus: July 1998; New Deal for Lone Parents: October 1998; New Deal 50 plus: April 2000; New Deal for Partners: May 1999.  3. Information on starts to New Deal 50 plus is only available from January 2004.  4. Information on people into jobs through New Deal 50 plus broken down by year, is only available at parliamentary constituency level from April 2003.  5. Information on New Deal for Disabled People is not available at parliamentary constituency level.  6. New Deal for Partners data is not available at parliamentary constituency level prior to April 2004.  7. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and totals may not sum due to rounding.   Source:  Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions

Occupational Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 113-14WS, 
	(1)  how many of the estimated number of people with pension losses are  (a) at or above age 65,  (b) aged 63 to 64,  (c) aged 60 to 62,  (d) aged 57 to 59,  (e) aged 54 to 56,  (f) aged 51 to 53,  (g) aged 48 to 50,  (h) aged 45 to 47,  (i) aged 42 to 44,  (j) aged 39 to 41 and  (k) aged under 39 years;
	(2)  how many of the estimated number of people with pension losses are (a) at or above scheme retirement age, (b) (i) less than three years, (ii) three to five years, (iii) six to eight years, (iv) eight to 10 years, (v) 11 to 13 years, (vi) 14 to 16 years and (vii) more than 16 years away from scheme retirement age.

James Purnell: The information in the following tables show a breakdown of the estimated number of individuals who have suffered pension losses by age and the number of years away from scheme retirement age. This is based on their age as at May 2004.
	
		
			  Table 1: Age profile of individuals who have suffered pension losses 
			  Age  Number of people 
			 65+ 10,000 
			 63-64 6,000 
			 60-62 11,000 
			 57-59 14,000 
			 54-56 12,000 
			 51-53 11,000 
			 48-50 10,000 
			 45-47 10,000 
			 42-44 10,000 
			 39-41 12,000 
			 <39 20,000 
			 Total 125,000 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2:  N umber of individuals who have suffered pension losses by the number of years away from scheme retirement age 
			  Years from scheme retirement age (SRA)  Number of people 
			 At or above SRA 11,000 
			 <3 years 11,000 
			 3-5 years 11,000 
			 6-8 years 13,000 
			 9-11 years 12,000 
			 12-14 years 10,000 
			 15 years+ 56,000 
			 Total 125,000 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and they may not sum exactly to the total due to rounding. 2. Information is based on sample data and should therefore be treated with caution. Breaking down the data into small intervals may not produce reliable estimates.

Occupational Pensions

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the written statement of 28 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 113-14WS, on occupational pensions, 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the cost of compensation from the extended Financial Assistance Scheme in  (a) cash terms and  (b) net present value terms for those who are (i) at or above age 65 years, (ii) aged 63 to 64 years, (iii) aged 60 to 62 years, (iv) aged 57 to 59 years, (v) aged 54 to 56 years, (vi) aged 51 to 53 years, (vii) aged 48 to 50 years, (viii) aged 45 to 47 years, (ix) aged 42 to 44 years, (x) aged 39 to 41 years and (xi) aged under 39 years if Pensions Protection Fund (PPF) level benefits were paid and PPF eligibility criteria were applied;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost of compensation from the extended Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) in  (a) cash terms and  (b) net present value terms for those who are (i) at or above age 65, (ii) aged 63-64, (iii) aged 60-62, (iv) aged 57-59, (v) aged 54-56, (vi) aged 51-53, (vii) aged 48-50, (viii) aged 45-47, (ix) aged 42-44, (x) aged 39-41, (xi) aged under 39 years if Pensions Protection Fund level benefits were paid with eligibility determined according to the present FAS criteria;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the cost of compensation from the extended Financial Assistance Scheme in  (a) cash terms,  (b) net present value terms for those who are (i) at or above age 65, (ii) aged 63 to 64, (iii) aged 60 to 62, (iv) aged 57 to 59, (v) aged 54 to 56, (vi) aged 51 to 53, (vii) aged 48 to 50, (viii) aged 45 to 47, (ix) aged 42 to 44, (x) aged 39 to 41 and (xi) aged under 39 years.

James Purnell: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Accountancy: Diplomas

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether students pursuing the new business, administration and finance diploma will be able to gain qualifications in accounting as part of that diploma;
	(2)  whether pursuing the new business, administration and finance diploma will give students a direct non-university progression route towards becoming chartered accountants in the same way as current Association of Accounting Technician national vocational qualifications.

Phil Hope: holding answer s  15 May 2007
	The new diplomas in business, administration and finance are being designed to give young people first hand experience and insight into the world of work and a broad based understanding of one or more sectors of employment preparing them to make informed choices of career or further study. They are not designed to provide full occupational competency in accountancy as NVQs are.
	The Diploma Development Partnership is working closely with the Association of Accounting Technicians and other relevant professional bodies as it designs the diploma.
	Within the mandatory part of the diplomas is an accounting topic that will provide a foundation in accounting for all learners. Learners who wish to progress to become a chartered accountant, or those who simply want more experience in this area, will be able to supplement their mandatory subjects with appropriate choices from the range of options within the diploma. This suite is currently being defined but it is likely to include elements from the existing range of accounting qualifications.
	Young people who gain a diploma in business, administration and finance will be able to enter accountancy and other industries, direct from school or college or progress to higher education.

Adoption: West Midlands

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children were adopted in  (a) Tamworth constituency,  (b) Staffordshire,  (c) the West Midlands and  (d) England in each of the last five years.

Parmjit Dhanda: The number of adoption orders made for all children by courts in England and Wales for the period 1 January 2001-31 December 2005 (latest figures available) are:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 5,386 
			 2002 5486 
			 2003 5363 
			 2004 5376 
			 2005 5294 
		
	
	A breakdown of these figures on a geographical basis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Statistical information on the total number of adoptions is included in the statistics series 'Marriage, divorce and adoptions', volume FM2, published by the Office of National Statistics. A copy of this publication is available in the House of Commons Library and on the National Statistics' website at:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/FM2no32/FM2_32.pdf

Apprentices

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many apprenticeships were started in each of the last 20 years.

Phil Hope: holding answer 23 April 2007
	 Figures for those participating in apprenticeships funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) derive from the Individual Learner Record (ILR). Comparable figures are only available since 2000/01 when the ILR was collated nationally and consistently for the first time by the LSC. The following table shows the number of starts on Advanced Apprenticeships and Apprenticeships since 2000/01.
	
		
			   Advanced apprenticeships  Apprenticeships  Total 
			 2000/01 72,400 104,100 176,500 
			 2001/02 54,000 108,300 162,300 
			 2002/03 50,400 122,200 172,600 
			 2003/04 57,000 136,600 193,600 
			 2004/05 53,900 135,100 189,000 
			 2005/06 50,700 120,600 171,300 
		
	
	The average number of apprentices actually in learning in 2005/06 was 254,000, an increase from 75,000 in learning in 1997.

Children's Centres

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps have been taken to implement the recommendations in the National Audit Office report of December 2006 on Sure Start children's centres.

Beverley Hughes: The National Audit Office's report on Sure Start Children's Centres contained a number of recommendations for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), for local authorities and their partners, and for children's centres themselves to improve the financial management of children's services. The Public Accounts Committee took evidence from senior officials from DfES in January 2007 and we await their conclusions. We will be issuing guidance very shortly which contains the principles of good governance for children's centres and extended services and includes details of children's centres advisory boards which will support effective financial management and performance monitoring. In the summer we plan further guidance to accompany details of the additional funding for children's centres, resulting from our Comprehensive Spending Review, to help local authorities ensure that resources are effectively targeted, fairly distributed according to need, and achieve value for money.

Children's Centres

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of issuing precise practice guidance to children's centres; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The revised Sure Start Children's Centres Practice Guidance, issued last November, is for children's centre managers and practitioners, local authorities, primary care trusts and other delivery partners. It emphasises best practice in how to deliver services and tailor support to meet the individual needs of all young children and their parents, wherever they live, and contains examples of good practice. Many of the principles in the guidance are not new; they have been part of the Sure Start approach from the beginning. We want to see them consistently applied so that no parents or children miss out on the advantages that Sure Start Children's Centres can bring and good practice becomes common practice in all children's centres. The Together for Children consortium is working with local authorities to support effective networks that draw on evidence based practice and encourage shared learning and knowledge. It is too early to assess the impact of this guidance but it is being monitored through the children's centres performance management framework and future evaluation work.

Children's Centres

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress the Together for Children partnership has made in supporting and challenging local authority practice on children's centres; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Together for Children is working with local authorities to help build their capacity to plan, commission and project manage the roll-out of sustainable high quality children's centres. Support plans are being implemented with the agreement of all 150 local authorities, with the level and type of support tailored to their individual needs. There are currently 1,266 designated children's centres, and we are on track to meet our target of delivering 2,500 centres by 2008.

Connexions Card

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Youth Opportunity Card pilot schemes are running; and what evaluation has taken place of the effectiveness of the schemes to date.

Beverley Hughes: In February we announced we would not be proceeding with the Youth Opportunity Card pilots, because the private sector could not offer a delivery solution at a satisfactory level of certainty and the potential costs meant that value for money could not be assured.
	Since then, we have been working with the nine local authority pilot areas to develop alternative ways of empowering individual disadvantaged young people to take part in positive activities of their choice. We hope to come forward with proposals shortly.

Departments: Training

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2007,  Official Report, column 434W, on Departments: training, when he expects to write to the hon. Member for South Holland and The Deepings with the information referred; and if he will place a copy of the information in the Library.

Bill Rammell: The Department offers a range of corporate skills development including formal off the job training, e-learning and access to a range of learning and coaching materials from our learning and development function. All these are linked to the Professional Skills for Government agenda and our business and improvement objectives.
	The Department has also placed great emphasis on good people management. Provision includes line manager coaching and supporting individuals while learning on the job. This is recognised as the most effective way to learn, apply, and develop skills and knowledge. In addition, our provision supports IiP where we have trained internal HP assessors.
	The list of internal formal off the job courses available is as follows:
	Leadership Programme
	Policy Development Skills
	Relationship Management
	Strategic Thinking
	Programme and Project Management
	Contract Management
	Financial Management
	People Management
	Drafting and Writing Skills
	A copy of the information has been placed in the House Library.

Part-time Education

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultations he has undertaken since the publication of the Leitch Report with  (a) the Open University,  (b) Birkbeck College and  (c) other institutions on strategies to increase the proportion of those in work who engage in part-time study.

Bill Rammell: Representatives from all higher education institutions (HEIs) have been invited to participate fully in the programme of national and regional events designed to build consensus around the Leitch challenges. Ministers and officials informally exchange views with a wide range of HEIs on developing HE-level skills within the workforce.
	Developing new models of HE that are flexible, relevant and responsive to the needs of employers and learners already in the workforce is at the core of the Department's employer engagement strategy. The Higher Education Funding Council for England has been tasked by the Secretary of State with delivering an additional 5,000 student places co-funded by employers in the financial year 2008-09, with further growth of at least 5,000 places year-on-year for the following two years. These three years will represent a crucial testing ground for exploring how best to increase the proportion of those in the workforce who engage in higher-level study, many of whom will wish to learn on a part-time basis.

Part-time Education

Hywel Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he has taken since the publication of the Leitch Report  (a) to increase the number of employees who have access to part-time study in order to gain appropriate qualifications and  (b) to engage the support of employers in increasing the access of employees to part-time education.

Phil Hope: The Leitch Review was published on 5 December 2006 and was welcomed in broad terms by the Chancellor on 6 December. The formal response will be published by the Department, on behalf of the Government, this summer.
	Since the publication of Lord Leitch's report the Government have continued to promote their new Train to Gain service to encourage employers to train their people with free training available for the low skilled. As a result 135,860 employees from 36,270 employers are now in learning through part-time, flexibly delivered training.
	The Government have already announced the Skills Pledge, another key Leitch recommendation that builds on the model developed in Wales. It will encourage employers to voluntarily commit to train their low skilled employees whether through part-time learning or otherwise. Thus far, 21 Central Government Departments, employing more than 500,000 civil servants, as well as several major employers have already given their commitment to it.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that local authorities are passing the funds allocated for the nursery education grant directly to frontline providers.

Beverley Hughes: The Government invest £3 billion per year through the Dedicated Schools Grant into funding the free early education entitlement. This provides sufficient funding for the delivery of a universal free early learning entitlement for all children regardless of their parents' income or ability to pay. Local authorities have discretion over the use they make of funding from the Dedicated Schools Grant including the rates at which they fund early education in all types of setting. The 2006 code of practice clearly encourages them to fund early years provision equitably across settings in accordance with local circumstances.
	In December 2006 I wrote to local authority chief executives asking them to reassure themselves that providers delivering the free early education entitlement are funded appropriately.
	The Schools, Early Years and 14-16 Funding consultation which ends on 1 June sets out a number of proposals for changes to the way the early years funding system operates.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what representations he has received on the possibility of funding for the nursery education grant passing directly from the Government to the provider.

Beverley Hughes: We conducted a full public consultation on the 2006 code of practice, to which 585 responses were received, the majority from providers. None of those who responded made representation for funding for the free early education entitlement to be paid from the Government directly to the provider, nor have there been representations on this issue since the code came into force.

Skills Pledge: Public Service

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which  (a) central Government and  (b) local government public sector employers with more than 1,000 staff will (i) be participating and (ii) not be participating in the Skills Pledge announced by his Department.

Phil Hope: holding answer 8 May 2007
	The Leitch review was published on 5 December 2006 and was welcomed in broad terms by the Chancellor on 6 December. The formal response will be published by the Department, on behalf of the Government, this summer.
	The Skills Pledge, which will be formally launched this summer, is intended to be a specific voluntary commitment by employers that they will support and enable every eligible employee in their workforce to gain basic skills and a first full level 2 qualification.
	As a signal that the public sector was prepared to demonstrate its commitment to the Leitch ambition, Permanent Secretaries of 14 Departments gave their commitment to signing a Skills Pledge on 18th April. Since then other Departments have also made a commitment. The Departments thus far committed are:
	Cabinet Office;
	Department for Constitutional Affairs; Department for Education and Skills;
	Department of Health;
	Department for Transport;
	Department of Trade and Industry;
	Department for Work and Pensions;
	Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs;
	Her Majesty's Treasury;
	Home Office;
	Ministry of Defence;
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
	Government Communications Headquarters;
	Department for International Development;
	Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs;
	Department for Culture, Media and Sport;
	Department of Communities and Local Government;
	Crown Prosecution Service; Office for National Statistics.
	In total more than 500,000 civil servants are now covered by a Skills Pledge. Government Skills, the sector skills council for central Government are working with Departments on turning the commitment into action plans. At this stage no Department is expected not to participate.
	The Department is working with local authorities and other public sector representatives on how the Skills Pledge can be best delivered for their employees. To date, no commitments have been made, though local authorities and other public sector bodies have made a significant contribution to the basic skills agenda. We will be looking to build on that work for the Skills Pledge through the well-established network of basic skills champions in the public sector.

Written Questions

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer question 115982 on children of asylum seekers, tabled by the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 11 January.

Parmjit Dhanda: A response was issued to the hon. Member on 15 May 2007,  Official Report, column 707W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan: Uzbekistan

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the Government of Uzbekistan on Uzbek nationals supporting Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

Geoff Hoon: Through our diplomatic contacts with the Uzbek authorities, the Government are aware that the Government of Uzbekistan are neither supportive of nor otherwise engaged in the reported activities of those Uzbek nationals in Afghanistan to which the hon. Member refers.
	We remain interested in principle in closer co-operation with Uzbekistan aimed at promoting regional stability, including in Afghanistan, as part of a wider dialogue with the Uzbek Government encompassing a range of interests, including our concerns over human rights.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she is making to the government of Burma on the targeting of civilians in Karen State.

Ian McCartney: We have repeatedly condemned the Burmese army's attacks on civilians in Karen State.
	I have raised the human rights situation regularly with the Burmese regime and other Governments in the region. On 16 June 2006, I called in the Burmese Ambassador and on 5 July 2006 I wrote to the Burmese Foreign Minister, highlighting our many concerns. On 18 September 2006, I raised the serious human rights situation with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ambassadors, including the Burmese Ambassador, and on 4 December 2006 with the ASEAN Secretary-General. I have also raised Burma with the Governments of China, India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. I have discussed the human rights abuses taking place in Burma with Juan Mendez, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. I discussed Burma in detail with Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, on 15 November 2006, following his visit to the country. Most recently, I raised the human rights situation in Burma in my address to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 13 March and at the EU/ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Nuremberg on 15 March, in the presence of the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister. In addition, our Ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights with the regime, most recently when he met the Burmese Ministers for Planning and Immigration and the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 5 January.
	On 23 April the EU Council of Ministers called for the Burmese regime to end the military campaign against civilians in conflict areas.
	We shall continue to take every opportunity to raise our concerns about all human rights violations in Burma.

Burma: Ethnic Groups

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking in the UN Security Council to ensure the protection of civilians and relief workers in Burma, in accordance with the Security Council's responsibility to protect.

Ian McCartney: We highlighted the impact on civilians of the Burmese Government's campaign against insurgents during the UN Security Council debate on Protection of Civilians on 4 December 2006.
	We supported the US-led efforts to have Burma added to the UN Security Council agenda in September 2006 and co-sponsored with the US a UN Security Council Resolution on Burma. This was put to the vote on 12 January. Three states voted against and as such the resolution was not adopted.
	Burma remains on the UN Security Council agenda. We support the UN's efforts, including the good offices mission of the UN Secretary-General, to promote peace and national reconciliation in Burma. We will continue to work closely with the UN and with partners to ensure that this effort is sustained.
	I have repeatedly raised my concerns about human rights issues with international partners and directly with the Burmese Government. I shall continue to do so.

Estonia: Russia

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has had with the Government of Estonia on that country's relations with Russia.

Geoff Hoon: The Estonian Foreign Minister briefed my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other EU Foreign Ministers on Estonia's relations with Russia at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 14 May. Our Ambassador in Tallinn has held more detailed discussions with the Estonian Government on relations with Russia.

Estonia: Russia

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions she has held with EU partners on relations between Russia and Estonia; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The Estonian Foreign Minister briefed my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other EU Foreign Ministers on Estonia's relations with Russia at the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council on 14 May. There have also been several debates within the EU and other organisations following the recent dispute over the relocation of a war memorial in Tallinn. We recognise the right of the Estonian government to relocate war memorials and war graves and see this as an internal matter for Estonia. We do not see rhetoric from others, designed to exacerbate the situation, as helpful.

EU Aid: Politics and Government

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what  (a) her Department's and  (b) EU policy is on funding non-governmental organisations in other democratic countries which campaign actively against those countries' Governments' policies; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to promoting democratic values and principles, including a vibrant civil society.
	We recognise the vital role civil society plays in promoting human rights, democracy and good governance. We value the expertise which many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working to implement human rights possess and therefore work with them to encourage governments, including democratic ones, to meet international human rights standards.
	The FCO has a range of programme funds which aim to support its work on human rights. The merits of all funding requests are considered on a case by case basis. Further information can be found on the FCO website at:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029394988.
	The EU has a human rights and democracy programme, the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). NGOs are eligible to bid for project funding. Information on the activities and actions of EIDHR is accessible at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/projects/eidhr/index_en.htm.
	To be able to provide the information required by my hon. Friend a more specific request is required. I have asked my hon. Friend to write to me with specific details of his interest in this issue and I will respond to him.

European Constitution Treaty

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will submit any constitutional treaty agreed by the European Union to a vote in the House before it is signed.

Geoff Hoon: There is at present no consensus among EU partners on the way forward regarding the constitutional treaty or any new treaty. These issues will be discussed at the European Council in June. The Government's approach to these discussions was set out in my written ministerial statement of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 10-11WS.
	As with previous EU treaties, any text agreed would be signed by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and then submitted to Parliament for approval as part of the ratification process.

European Constitution Treaty

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will submit any EU treaty containing constitutional changes for the EU to a national referendum.

Geoff Hoon: There is at present no consensus among EU partners on the way forward regarding the constitutional treaty or any new treaty. These issues will be discussed at the European Council in June. The Government's approach to these discussions was set out in my written ministerial statement of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 10-11WS.

Iran: Hezbollah

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of Iranian attempts to rearm Hezbollah.

Ian McCartney: In March the UN Secretary-General reported that there was mounting evidence that Hezbollah is rearming and smuggling arms across the Syria/Lebanon border. While the UN Secretary-General's report did not specifically identify Iran as the supplier of these arms we continue to judge that Iran provides Hezbollah with weapons and finance.
	The UK continues to have serious concerns about the role of Iran in the region, including Iran's continued and open support for Hezbollah. The UK has voiced these concerns on several occasions. UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1747 introduced a ban on the export of arms from Iran. We continue to work, along with our international partners, to ensure that UNSCR 1747 is fully implemented.

Pakistan: Immigration

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when HM High Commission Islamabad plans to act upon the decision of the Immigration Judge in the successful appeal of Mrs. K. U. N., wife of Mr. I. G. of Aylesbury (reference OA/26058/2006), the decision on which was promulgated on 19 February and forwarded to HM High Commission on 26 April.

Ian McCartney: According to our High Commission in Islamabad a letter inviting the applicant to submit her passport was sent out on 10 May. As soon as the passport has been received the entry clearance can be issued.

Rafik Hariri

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she has taken to support the establishment of a tribunal into the murder of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Lebanon.

Ian McCartney: The UK has been consistently committed to pursuing justice with regard to the assassination of Rafik Hariri. We were actively involved in negotiations on UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1595, which established the UN International Independent Investigation Commission to investigate the crime. We also supported UNSCR 1664 which called for the establishment of a tribunal to try those accused of committing the crimes.
	In November 2006, with the UK's support, the then UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, wrote to Prime Minister Siniora inviting the Lebanese government to approve statutes for the tribunal. As yet this has not been possible given the ongoing political crisis in Lebanon. We are currently exploring with Security Council partners how the international community can assist Lebanon in setting up the tribunal.

Saudi Arabia

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when  (a) she has and  (b) officials from her Department have met (i) Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud and (ii) his representatives since 1 January 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: Meetings between Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud took place on the following dates:
	2 January 2006;
	7 February 2006;
	10 March 2006;
	5 December 2006; and
	16 January 2007.
	A meeting between officials and Rehab Massoud (Prince Bandar's chief of staff) took place on 18 April 2007.

Saw Lee Reh Kyaw

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the execution of a Karenni humanitarian relief worker, Saw Lee Reh Kyaw, on 10 April.

Ian McCartney: We have seen reports about the death of Saw Lee Reh Kyaw, a member of the Free Burma Rangers. Officials from our Embassy in Rangoon do not have access to conflict areas and have not been able to investigate these reports further.
	I have raised the human rights situation regularly with the Burmese regime and other Governments in the region. On 16 June 2006, I called in the Burmese Ambassador and on 5 July 2006 I wrote to the Burmese Foreign Minister, highlighting our many concerns. On 18 September 2006, I raised the serious human rights situation with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ambassadors, including the Burmese Ambassador, and on 4 December 2006 with the ASEAN Secretary-General. I have also raised Burma with the Governments of China, India, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea. I have discussed the human rights abuses taking place in Burma with Juan Mendez, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. I discussed Burma in detail with Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, on 15 November 2006, following his visit to the country. Most recently, I raised the human rights situation in Burma in my address to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 13 March and at the EU/ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Nuremberg on 15 March, in the presence of the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister. In addition, our Ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights with the regime, most recently when he met the Burmese Ministers for Planning and Immigration and the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 5 January.

Sudan: International Relations

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Government of  (a) Russia and  (b) China on their relationship with the Government of Sudan.

Ian McCartney: We regularly discuss relations with Sudan, and the situation in Darfur, with the Chinese and Russian Governments including at the UN. We want China and Russia to use their influence in Sudan to ensure the Government of Sudan supports deployment of a joint African Union/UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, a lasting ceasefire and a renewed political process with rebels in Darfur. We gave this message to the Chinese Government before President Hu's visit to Africa earlier this year.

Turkey: Human Rights

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether she plans to discuss the human rights of the Christian community in Turkey with her Turkish counterpart; and if she will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary does not currently have plans to raise the issue of the human rights of the Christian community in Turkey with her Turkish counterpart. Freedom of worship is generally respected. There is more to be done to reduce the difficulties encountered by all minority religious communities. We continue to encourage Turkey to maintain the momentum of reform in all areas, including human rights and freedom of religion.

JUSTICE

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will bring forward legislation to amend the Infant Life Preservation Act 1929 to reduce the period at which a foetus is presumed to be viable from 28 weeks to 22 weeks; what recent representations she has received on the issue; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no current plans to amend the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. No representations have been received on the specific issue recently.

Abortion

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will bring forward legislation to create an offence of deliberately  (a) injuring and  (b) killing an unborn child; what recent representations she has received about the issue; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Killing an unborn child is already an offence. The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 creates an offence of killing a child capable of being born alive. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 creates an offence of procuring an abortion. Compliance with the provisions of the provisions of the Abortion Act 1967 provides a defence to both offences.
	There is no specific offence of injuring a foetus. Injuring an unborn child, if proved, is likely to be dealt with in law as an injury to the mother.
	We have had no recent representations on this issue.

Absent Voting: Hendon

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many postal votes were registered in Hendon on 1 May in  (a) 2006 and  (b) 2007; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: Information on the number of postal voters registered by constituency is not collated by my Department. However, I understand from the London borough of Barnet electoral services office that the relevant figures are:  (a) 11,504 on 1 May 2006; and  (b) 9,991 on 1 May 2007.
	The Electoral Commission is collecting data from local electoral registration officers on their numbers of postal voters, in order to inform the Commission's current review of the implementation of the new absent voter personal identifier requirements. The Commission's final report should therefore make clear the extent to which the introduction of postal voter identifiers has affected the number of postal voters across England and Wales.

Departments: Enodian

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what consultancy and research work her Department, including the Hayden Phillips review, has commissioned from the firm Enodian in the last 12 months; at what cost; and for what purpose.

Vera Baird: Since the Ministry of Justice was only formed on 9 May, my response refers to the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) and those bodies which were formerly part of the Home Office which are now part of the new Department. In the past 12 months DCA commissioned Enodian to provide consultancy support as outlined as follows:
	Provision of a Business Change Manager to support the implementation of structural changes within Corporate Diversity Unit (value £56,800).
	Support to the development of an implementation strategy for raising diversity awareness throughout DCA (value £7,350); and to the design and delivery of diversity leadership briefing for senior officials (value £8,000).
	Enodian have very recently been commissioned to provide organisational change management support to the Department's Commercial Group at an approximate cost of £12,000.
	The Review of the Funding of Political Parties and the current inter-party talks chaired by Sir Hayden Phillips are both independent of the Department. Enodian provided consultancy support and advice relating to the review (value £19,200) and subsequently have been engaged to lead the secretariat to the inter-party talks (at an expected value of between £32,000 and £40,000).
	No consultancy or research work was commissioned with Enodian by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, the National Offender Management Service or HM Prison Service.

Departments: Manpower

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many staff in her Department are classified as people without posts.

Bridget Prentice: There are currently 67 employees within the Ministry of Justice who are potentially without posts.

Departments: Sovereign Strategy

Theresa May: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many meetings  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from her Department and its predecessor held with Sovereign Strategy in each year between 1997 and 2006.

Vera Baird: Since May 2005 no Ministers from my Department held meetings with Sovereign Strategy. Information from before May 2005 cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.

Domestic Violence: Foetal Death

David Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many pregnant women in England were physically assaulted by a partner or former partner which resulted in the death of the unborn child in each of the last 20 years for which figures are available.

Gerry Sutcliffe: These figures are not held centrally.

Elections: Fraud

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what estimate her Department has made of the incidence of electoral fraud in the form of treating of electors in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bridget Prentice: The Electoral Commission's initial analysis of the CPS files on allegations of electoral malpractice between 2000 and 2006, indicate that seven allegations concerning the offence of treating were made during that period.

Electoral Administration Act 2006

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will make a statement on the causes of the drafting errors in the Electoral Administration Act 2006 which have resulted in section 69(a) of the Act not being implemented; and what steps are being taken to remedy them.

Bridget Prentice: Section 69 of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 provides for electoral administrators with new powers to promote participation in the electoral process.
	There are no drafting errors in this section of the Act, and it was commenced in time for the 3 May 2007 local elections.

Electoral Register: Armed Forces

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many service voters were registered to vote in each year since 1997 prior to the abolition of the designation of service voting.

Bridget Prentice: I should make clear that there has been no abolition of the service declaration as a means by which relevant individuals can register as an elector. The Representation of the People Act 2000 placed a time limit on the validity of—but did not abolish—a service declaration, but also provided relevant individuals the option of registering as a normal elector rather than as a service voter.
	Information on the number of individuals registered as electors under a service declaration prior to 2001 is not available. The Office for National Statistics figures confirm the number of individuals registered as service voters under a service declaration from this date is as follows.
	
		
			  Number 
			   England and Wales  Scotland  Great Britain 
			 16 February 2001 157,770 17,705 175,475 
			 1 December 2001 139,686 16,289 155,975 
			 1 December 2002 49,122 3,067 52,189 
			 2 December 2003 30,271 2,100 32,371 
			 2 December 2004 21,122 1,707 22,829 
			 3 December 2005 19,028 1,576 20,604 
			 4 December 2006 19,350 1,656 21,006

Norwich Prison

Edward Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice when she will publish a response to the report dated 10 May by HM Inspector of Prisons on HM Prison Norwich with  (a) a detailed plan of and  (b) a timetable for the completion of all necessary remedial action.

Gerry Sutcliffe: In a protocol agreed with HMCIP and Ministers the Prison Service will aim to produce an initial action plan within two months of the date of publication. This action plan sets out what action will be taken in respect of each recommendation, and the timetable for that action. The plan is updated 12 months after publication.

Prison Accommodation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the total operational capacity of the prison estate was in each month in 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The useable operational capacity of the prison estate for each month in 1997 is listed in the following table.
	
		
			  1997  Operational capacity 
			 January 58,975 
			 February 59,309 
			 March 59,576 
			 April 60,353 
			 May 60,927 
			 June 61,601 
			 July 62,366 
			 August 63,053 
			 September 63,240 
			 October 63,651 
			 November 64,293 
			 December 64,787

Prison Service: Greater London

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many managed moves were announced for London  (a) prison governors and  (b) their deputies in each of the last two years; how many of these appointments were as a result of open competition; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There have been seven vacancies for governing governor posts in the London area over the last two years. Five of these posts were appointed via managed appointments and two as a result of open competition.
	There have been five vacancies for deputy governor posts in the London area over the last two years. Four of these posts were appointed via managed appointments and one as a result of open competition.
	The following table illustrates the figures given and the time scales in which they were appointed;
	
		
			  Post  1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006  1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007  1 April 2007 to 14 May 2007  Managed moves  Open competition  Total 
			 Governing governor 4 2 1 5 2 7 
			 Deputy governor 3 1 1 4 1 5 
			 Total 7 3 2 9 3 12

Prison Service: Manpower

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many additional staff are planned to be recruited to ensure new facilities, including  (a) new prison builds,  (b) conversion of existing facilities,  (c) additional units and  (d) prison ships coming on stream are fully staffed on current projections; what funding will be available to achieve this; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: At this stage it is not possible to specify the number of personnel that will be required to staff the new prison facilities included in the prison capacity programme.
	For new-build prisons the design will dictate the number of staff that are required to deliver the services and regimes, so the staffing levels can only be determined once the contracts for development have been awarded.

Prison Service: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice 
	(1)  when she expects the review of required hours allowance payments in HM Prison Service to be completed; what estimate she has made of the  (a) number of HM Prison Service staff incorrectly in receipt of required hours allowance and  (b) value of incorrect payments; whether she plans to publish the review into required hours allowance payments; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  how many non-operational managers receive required hours allowance payments in HM Prison Service; what the cost of these payments was in the last 12 months; who is responsible for authorising these payments; if she will place the criteria for authorising these payments in the Library; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  how many non-operational  (a) heads of personnel and  (b) heads of management units within HM Prison Service are in receipt of required hours allowance payments; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The criteria for the payment of required hours allowance (RHA) is laid out in the 2001 Pay Code (Phase One of Pay and Grading), Notice to Staff 3/2000 (Pay and Grading Phase 1), and paragraph 7.9 of the Prison Service staff handbook. All are available electronically on the Prison Service intranet, and from the Library of the House.
	RHA is considered for those Prison Service manager posts where the role requires regular unpredictable and unsociable working hours by the post holder. This will apply to both operational and non-operational posts in headquarters, area offices and prisons. There are 1,370 posts across the Prison Service which receive RHA at an annual cost of £7,158,250.
	The decision to authorise payment of an allowance through salary, is made by the Deputy Director, HR Policy and Reward (formerly Head of Pay and Employee Relations Group).
	The first stage review of all those within Prison Service headquarters and area offices in receipt of RHA, has now been completed. The review of posts currently in receipt of RHA within establishments will be concluded by May 2008.
	At the end of the review a summary of the findings will be published through the Prison Service intranet.

Prison Service: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many breaches of the regulations relating to the use of  (a) time off in lieu,  (b) ex gratia payments and  (c) other supplementary payments occurred in HM Prison Service in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Service: Sick Leave

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many cases of HM Prison Service staff reporting absent as a result of work-related stress there were in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service does not record the cause of stress related absences.

Prison Service: Training

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the legal requirements are for the provision of training for HM Prison Service staff managing informants; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There are no legal requirements for the provision of training to staff managing informants.

Prisons: Smuggling

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice pursuant to her answer to the hon. Member for East Yorkshire (Mr. Knight) of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 892W, on prisons: smuggling, what the grade was of the staff member responsible for commissioning the investigation into the Independent Monitoring Board member found trafficking unauthorised articles into a prison establishment; how much in  (a) expenses and  (b) allowances had been paid to the independent monitoring board member concerned; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on individual expense claims is not held centrally.

Prisons: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many members of independent monitoring boards had their appointments terminated in each  (a) HM Prison Service regional area and  (b) contracted prison; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Since August 2003 there has been one Independent Monitoring Board member who has had their appointment terminated in the London area, three members from the East Midlands area, one member from the Surrey and Sussex area, two members from the North West area, one member from the South West area, and one from the Thames Valley area. Also two members of Boards in contracted prisons have had their appointments terminated in the reporting period.

Prisons: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what  (a) allowances and  (b) expenses are available to members of independent monitoring boards; what the total cost of payments was to independent monitoring board members of each prison establishment in each of the last four years; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The total expenditure claimed by Independent Monitoring Board members in the last four years is:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2003-04 832,389 
			 2004-05 877,133 
			 2005-06 1,146,940 
			 2006-07 1,023,380 
		
	
	The request to provide the total cost for allowances and expenses for each of the establishments for the last four years cannot be answered on the grounds of disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Swimming Pools

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice how many prisons have swimming pools for use by inmates; and if she will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Five prisons have swimming pools which are used by prisoners. They are at Holloway, Portland, Aylesbury, Standford Hill and Blantyre House. Where operational circumstances permit, these pools are made available to local groups.

HEALTH

Acute Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staffed inpatient and day case beds there were in each major acute hospital in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: Data on beds are collected at trust, rather than hospital level.
	A table which shows the average daily number of available beds in (i) wards open overnight and (ii) wards open day only for national health service organisations in England in 2005-06 (the latest year's data) has been placed in the Library.

Arun Community Hospital

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 26 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1263W, on Arun Community hospital, to whom NHS South East Coast is accountable.

Andy Burnham: South East Coast strategic health authority (SHA) is a statutory organisation and has a board made up of both executive and non-executive directors. SHAs operate under powers delegated to them by the Secretary of State, and function as the local headquarters of the national health service.
	SHAs are subject to direction by the Secretary of State about their exercise of functions. In practice, SHAs are held to account via their chief executives by the NHS Chief Executive, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for ensuring their local health systems operate effectively and in line with Government policies.

Departments: Arms Length Management Organisations

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by each of her Department's arm's length bodies on  (a) public relations companies and  (b) other consultants in each of the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

Departments: Publications

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether her Department commissioned new research to support the clinical case for change reports published by  (a) the national adviser for surgery on 17 April 2007,  (b) the national director for primary care on 5 February 2007,  (c) the national director for emergency access on 5 December 2006,  (d) the national director for heart disease and stroke on 5th December 2006,  (e) the national clinical director for children, young people and maternity services on 6 February 2007 and  (f) the national director for older people on 29 January 2007; and what the total cost to the public purse of producing each of these reports has been, inclusive of development and publication costs.

Andy Burnham: Further to the answer given on 13 March 2007,  Official Report, column 316W, these are personal reports written by the national clinical directors. They use the most up to date evidence available in each of their specialities. No new research has been commissioned specifically for these documents. Further to the answer given on 22 March 2007,  Official Report, column 948W, the printing and publication costs of the seven reports is an average of £2,762 each making a total cost of £19,334.

GPs

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioner consultations took place in each year since 1997-98.

Andy Burnham: The number of general practitioner consultations carried out each year is not routinely collected centrally.

Health Professions: Finance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what ongoing funding is provided by her Department to the Health Professions Council.

Andy Burnham: According to our records no funding has been paid to the Health Professions Council (HPC) by the Department since April 2004. The HPC is an autonomous organisation funded by registration fees and does not receive funding from the Department.

Health Services: Public Participation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health why the consultation on the 10 core principles for those providing care to patients which her Department launched on 11 December 2006 differ from those on the NHS website at http://www.nhs.uk/England/AboutTheNhs/CorePrinciples.cmsx.

Andy Burnham: The principles on the national health service website referred to are those published in the NHS Plan 2000. On 11 December 2006, the Department published a new set of draft principles for consultation, which will be incorporated into the new NHS contract for hospital services.
	The NHS is changing from a top-down, centrally led service to a more flexible and responsive patient-led service where the needs of individuals are at the centre of health care. The updating of the core principles will reflect the changes in the provision of health services, and ensure that they are applicable to all providers of hospital care to NHS patients.

Hospitals: Private Sector

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines she has issued to hospital trusts on  (a) the provision by private companies of non-medical services for patients and  (b) the level of charges imposed.

Andy Burnham: The Department has issued guidance to the national health service on charging patients for bedside telephone and television services. In order to make these services available, a tender exercise was undertaken and a number of companies were licensed to provide these services to the NHS. The licence documentation contains guidance on acceptable charging strategies within the NHS.
	The procurement of other non-medical services is the responsibility of the local NHS, and it is for them to manage these contracts and ensure they offer value for money.

James Paget NHS Foundation Hospital

Anthony D Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget was for the James Paget NHS Foundation Hospital in each year for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the chair of James Paget University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust. We have written to John Hemming informing him of my hon. Friend's inquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

Morbidity and Mortality Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) morbidity and  (b) infant mortality rates for (i) Gypsy, (ii) Traveller and (iii) white British populations were in (A) 1987, (B) 1997 and (C) 2007.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally.

NHS: Databases

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the  (a) code and  (b) title is of all data returns required by her Department from (i) NHS trusts, (ii) primary care trusts and (iii) strategic health authorities; how frequently each is required; and how many items need to be recorded for each data return.

Andy Burnham: The information has been placed in the Library.
	Although exact information on the number of items that need to be recorded on each data return is not collated centrally, information on some returns is in the NHS data dictionary, available at:
	www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/datadictionary.

NHS: Standards

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact of removing targets from the NHS; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: "Our health, our care, our say" and the Local Government White Paper Strong and prosperous communities, set out the strategic direction for delivering the next phase of reform, where the system is more flexible and responsive to patient and user needs, which means greater local control and ownership of service improvements and less direction from the centre.
	We have already shifted the focus of national health service targets to make sure that they underpin improvements in health outcomes and patient experience, and reduced the numbers of new national requirements agreed through previous spending reviews, to support devolution.
	The NHS is now entering a new phase, where reforms are embedded to enable lasting transformation of the whole system of care delivery, and support a more locally driven, innovative and patient-led NHS no longer reliant on top down performance management as we know it.

Primary Health Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the isolated contractual difficulties were with primary care services in some parts of the country referred to in paragraph 1.5.2 of her Department's Winter Report 2006-07, published 3 April; in which primary care trusts the isolated contractual difficulties arose; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: Primary care trusts now have a legal responsibility to make sure patients are well cared for during the out-of-hours period and are responsible for performance managing their providers in the delivery of out-of-hours services.
	The Department does not routinely collect performance information on out of hours services. However, concerns about the out-of-hours service in Cornwall have been raised in the House on 20 February 2007,  Official  Report, column 1WH, by the hon. Member for Truro and St. Austell (Matthew Taylor).
	Since then, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust has worked with the provider, Serco, to put in place an improvement plan including an increase in staffing and capacity. South West Strategic Health Authority reports that the service is improving and it is now hitting 100 per cent. on many targets.
	In addition, in response to an issue raised by the coroner for inner north London, the Department issued Directions to primary care trusts in December 2006 requiring them to review arrangements locally to ensure adequate systems are in place to support continuity of care and ensure patient safety is safeguarded.

Private Finance Initiative

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 February 2006,  Official Report, columns 1325-27W, on the private finance initiative, what the reasons are for the differences between the capital values listed in the answer and those in her Department's press release of 27 February entitled Mapping the Success of NHS Building schemes Since 1997 for the schemes proposed by  (a) the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust,  (b) the Peterborough Hospitals NHS Trust,  (c) Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust,  (d) Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust,  (e) Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust and  (f) the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.

Andy Burnham: The principal reason for any change to the capital values of the schemes at the Tees Esk and Wear Valley National Health Service Trust, the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust and the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust was that the review of private finance initiative schemes led the trusts concerned to reconsider how their schemes could best be structured in order to deliver services, in the most cost effective way and ensure their long-term viability. A key part of this work was an assessment of the capacity assumptions to ascertain if these were realistic and properly suited to the needs of the local health economy; and a review of the estate in terms of current and planned building stock to ensure optimal use.
	In consequence all the schemes, with the exception of that at the Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust, underwent structural changes, details of which have been published and are available locally.
	In addition, the prices given in February 2006 did not reflect the fact that the schemes at both Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust and the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust were still pursuing a number of options. This meant that by the time the review came to consider these schemes their capital values had increased.
	The figures given in the 27 of February press notice for Mid Yorkshire included £37 million of public capital that was not included in the figure given in February 2006.

Royal London Homeopathic Hospital

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to prevent the closure of the Royal London Homeopathic hospital.

Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the Chair of University College London Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust. We have written to Peter Dixon informing him of the hon. Member's enquiry. He will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.

West Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will place in the Library the minutes of the meeting between her Department's officials and West Hertfordshire NHS Trust on 31 July 2006.

Andy Burnham: Departmental officials met with representatives of the Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust on 31 July 2006 primarily to discuss mental health policy. No formal notes were taken. Neither the Secretary of State, nor her Ministers nor officials have had representations made to them by West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. I regret that my written answer on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1762W, mistakenly said that the meeting had taken place with West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Gift Aid

Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes in the level of gift aid relief to charities.

Philip Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on changes in the level of gift aid relief to charities.

Edward Miliband: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I have discussed the increase that we have seen in the resources going to charities through gift aid from £134 million to £750 million since 1997 and the need to build on this. We will be consulting the charitable sector in the coming months on measures to increase take-up of gift aid, improve the use of payroll giving and ensure greater awareness of how to give in a tax-effective way.

Gift Aid

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the levels of gift aid to charities over the last two years.

Edward Miliband: In the last two years for which figures are available, the amount of money going to charities through gift aid has risen by £164 million from £586 million in 2003-04 to £750 million in 2005-06. This increase is higher than the total amount being paid under gift aid in 1996-97, which was just £134 million.

Olympics: Lottery Funding

David Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment she has made of the likely effect on third sector organisations of the reallocation of lottery funding to pay for the 2012 Olympics.

Edward Miliband: As announced earlier this year, the extra resources from the Big Lottery Fund will come from the money that would have gone to statutory agencies and the resources going to the third sector will be protected. The other distributors contributing to the Olympics have said they do not expect existing commitments to be affected and will make specific announcements about future programmes in due course.

Social Exclusion

Lyn Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment she has made of the balance of costs and benefits of intervening in the early years of a child's life to prevent social exclusion.

Hilary Armstrong: Early intervention is a guiding principle of the Social Exclusion Action Plan. This report highlighted the relative costs and benefits of a rigorously tested programme, the Nurse Family Partnership from the US that provides intensive home visiting services by health visitors to disadvantaged mothers from pregnancy until the child is two-years-old. The evaluation showed that for every $1 invested in the US programme, $5 is saved down the line. The Government are currently considering what can be learnt from this early intervention approach, with pilots of the programme being launched in 10 sites across England.

Local Government: Third Sector

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the relationship between local authorities and the third sector.

Edward Miliband: The relationship varies across the country and we want to do more to improve the quality of the partnerships between local authorities and the voluntary sector. That is why the Local Government White Paper contains important commitments to help the voluntary sector: for example, making the Compact part of local government inspection, encouraging asset transfer to the voluntary sector and setting a new expectation that three year funding is passed on by local government to the voluntary sector.

Delivery Unit

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 537W, on the Delivery Unit, by what means the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit provides performance management in key delivery areas;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 537W, on the Delivery Unit, for which key delivery areas the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit  (a) is providing performance management and  (b) has provided performance management in the last 12 months;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 538W, on the Delivery Unit, which  (a) education,  (b) health,  (c) home affairs and  (d) social exclusion targets the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit is focusing on;
	(4)  pursuant to the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 538W, on the Delivery Unit, in which areas the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit  (a) is facilitating cross-Government working and  (b) has facilitated cross-Government working within the last 12 months;
	(5)  on what projects the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit has started work in the last two months;
	(6)  what projects the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit is planning to work on over the next 12 months;
	(7)  on what projects the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit's  (a) justice team,  (b) asylum and migration team,  (c) local area agreement team,  (d) health team and  (e) education team are working.

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit provides performance management by:
	Monitoring and reporting on delivery of the PM's top delivery and reform priorities.
	Identifying the key barriers to improvement and the action needed to strengthen delivery
	Strengthening departments' capacity to deliver, through capability reviews and sharing knowledge about best practice in delivery.
	Supporting the development of high quality PSA targets.
	Supporting stocktakes with the Prime Minister and Ministers.
	Areas of focus, presently and over the last year include work in the following areas:
	Health
	Education
	Home Affairs
	Communities and Local Government
	The Unit seeks to facilitate cross-Government working in all these delivery areas. Over the last 12 months projects with a particular emphasis on cross-government working have been work on Local area agreements, respect, migration, social exclusion, delivery models and sustainable procurement.

Delivery Unit

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit  (a) is conducting and  (b) has conducted in the last 12 months reviews of (i) the identity cards scheme, (ii) the building schools for the future programme, (iii) the connecting for health programme, (iv) the city academies programme, (v) the foundation hospitals programme, (vi) the use of private prisons, (vii) Home Office restructuring or competence to meet its core objectives, (viii) Sure Start and (ix) the New Deal.

Hilary Armstrong: Over the past 12 months the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit has carried out a number of joint reviews with Government Departments, with a particular focus on health, education, home affairs and communities and local government. Other reviews have covered sustainable procurement and delivery models.

Delivery Unit

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the objectives are of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit for 2007-08.

Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister's Delivery Unit's objective for 2007-08 is to help Government deliver better and more efficient public services. It works predominantly in the areas of health, education, asylum and migration, justice and communities and local government.

Policy Review

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 24 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1017W, on the Policy Review, which part of the answer given to the hon. Member for Pendle on 8 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2198W, or the related document placed in the Library, refers to the payment to external organisations or companies as part of the Policy Review.

Hilary Armstrong: The answer given to the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 8 March 2007,  Official Report, column 2198W referred to a previous answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 26 January 2007,  Official Report, column 2127W. The last paragraph of this included a figure for the costs of the deliberative exercise which were payments to an external organisation.

Public Appointments

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what public appointments she has made since her appointment as Chancellor.

Hilary Armstrong: Since my appointment, I have made the following public appointments to the boards of public bodies sponsored by the Cabinet Office:
	
		
			  Body  Appointee  Position  Term of appointment 
			 Better Regulation Commission Lynne Berry Members 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 
			  Michael Gibbons   
			  Janet Russell   
			  Eve Salomon   
			  Sarah Veale   
			 
			 Compact Commission John Stoker Chair (designate) 1 October 2006 to 31 September 2009 
			 Futurebuilders Advisory Panel Jill Pitkeathley Chair 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 
			  Mohammed Amran Members 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 
			  Imtiaz Farookhi   
			  Margaret Hyde   
			  Pamela McHale   
			  Bhupendra Mistry   
			  Maureen Salmon   
			  Anna Southall   
			  Ted Unsworth   
			  Sarah Wood   
			 
			 Local Better Regulation Office Clive Grace Chair (designate) 1 July 2007 to 1 July 2012

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks: Crime

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many fixed penalty notices were issued for  (a) consumption of alcohol and  (b) selling alcohol to under-age people in (i) Suffolk, (ii) Bedfordshire, (iii) Cambridgeshire, (iv) Essex, (v) Hertfordshire and (vi) Norfolk in each year since the penalty scheme came into use.

Vernon Coaker: Information from the Penalty Notice for Disorder Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform covering the offences requested for the years 2004, 2005 as well as provisional data for 2006, is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of Penalty Notices for Disorder issued for selected alcohol related offences in selected police force areas, 2004, 2005 and provisional data for 2006( 1) 
			   Consumption of alcohol by under 18 on relevant premises  Sale of alcohol to a person under 18 
			  Police force area  2004  2005 ( 2) 2006  2004  2005 ( 2) 2006 
			 Bedfordshire — — — — 2 12 
			 Cambridgeshire — 1 1 — 11 24 
			 Essex — 1 2 7 120 91 
			 Hertfordshire — — 3 — 3 36 
			 Norfolk — — — — — 10 
			 Suffolk — — — — 19 20 
			 Total — 2 6 7 155 193 
			 * = not applicable (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Data for 2006 is unpublished and provisional

Antisocial Behaviour: Bus Services

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has reviewed whether there should be an additional offence for throwing  (a) stones and  (b) other missiles at buses which could potentially cause harm to (i) property and (ii) persons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Offences of assault, criminal damage or attempted criminal damage already apply in this situation. Assault can apply whether or not there was any injury. The criminal law applies whether the missiles are aimed at buses or elsewhere.

Antisocial Behaviour: Bus Services

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his Department will consider whether throwing missiles at buses should be an aggravating factor in sentencing for criminal damage.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	The Sentencing Guidelines Council is responsible for issuing sentencing guidelines which criminal courts must take into account. In December 2006, after consultation, the Council issued a guideline on seriousness, which included a comprehensive list of aggravating and mitigating factors of offences. These factors include the use of weapons in the commission of an offence, and attacks made on those providing a service to the public.

Antisocial Behaviour: Bus Services

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average penalty handed down was for offences relating to throwing stones or other missiles at buses in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Statistics collected centrally do not allow the offence of throwing stones or other missiles at buses to be separately identified from other criminal offences.

Antisocial Behaviour: Young People

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of area curfew schemes for young people to combat criminal and antisocial behaviour.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	No assessment has been made of the success of local child curfew schemes under section 14 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 as they have not been used.
	However, between January 2004 and 1 April 2006, the police have used the power in section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act to disperse unruly groups in over 1,000 designated areas. In these areas, the police have succeeded in tackling underage drinking, joyriding, noise nuisance, the antisocial use of fireworks and the harassment and intimidation of residents.
	This is one example of our commitment to empowering local communities to tackle the blight of antisocial behaviour
	Section 30 also gives the police power to return to their homes young people under 16 who are unsupervised in public places in such areas after 9 pm. A young person may have a legitimate reason for being out at night unsupervised and the power to return young people to their homes is discretionary: it is not a curfew.
	This power protects young people from the risks posed by being unsupervised at night in public places within particular areas where they might get involved in, or become victims of, antisocial behaviour and helps the police to protect local communities from the alarm and distress that unsupervised young people can cause. Statistics for police exercising the power to return home young people under 16 are not available.
	The section 30 powers are not intended to be used in isolation, but should form part of an integrated response to tackling crime and disorder and antisocial behaviour in local areas. This includes work by YOTs to prevent young people getting involved in offending and antisocial behaviour.

Dangerous Dogs Act 1991

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many owners of dogs registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs have been prosecuted since 1991 under  (a) section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and  (b) the Dogs Act 1871.

Vernon Coaker: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of people proceeded against at magistrates court under section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and the Dogs Act 1871 in England and Wales, 1991 to 2005, is shown in the following tables.
	The database, however, does not record whether any of the people proceeded against were owners of dogs registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs. Neither does the Index of Exempted Dogs record whether an owner of a dog on the index has been subject to any court proceedings.
	Figures for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates court for offences relating to section 3 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, and the Dogs Act 1871, in England and Wales, 1991-2005( 1, 2) 
			  Statute  Offence description  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998 
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place injuring any person. 0 310 349 286 259 221 259 434 
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non-public place and injure any person. 0 20 36 25 22 18 22 28 
			   
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place, no injury being caused. 0 388 307 196 189 162 175 247 
			   
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non- public place causing reasonable apprehension of injury to a person. 0 30 21 8 18 4 10 12 
			   
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1989. Dogs Act 1871 Sec 2. Failure to comply with an order to keep a dog under proper control etc. Dangerous dog not kept under proper control. 1 ,031 889 609 551 510 513 492 454 
			   
			 Total  1,031 1,637 1,322 1,066 998 918 958 1,175 
		
	
	
		
			  Statute  Offence description  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place injuring any person. 449 458 490 537 560 597 645 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non-public place and injure any person. 34 48 50 38 52 48 44 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(1). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to be dangerously out of control in a public place, no injury being caused. 254 266 278 284 329 290 278 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 Sec 3(3). Owner or person in charge allowing dog to enter a non- public place causing reasonable apprehension of injury to a person. 9 24 20 18 20 11 24 
			  
			 Dangerous Dogs Act 1989. Dogs Act 1871 Sec 2. Failure to comply with an order to keep a dog under proper control etc. Dangerous dog not kept under proper control. 401 462 374 336 335 352 306 
			  
			 Total  1,147 1,258 1,212 1,213 1,296 1,298 1,297 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Note: Offence codes for Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 were introduced to the court proceeding database from 1 January 1992.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Driving Offences: Foreigners

Jacqui Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people  (a) charged and  (b) convicted in each of the last five years (i) were not UK citizens, (ii) did not hold a valid British driving licence and (iii) had not applied for a British driving test.

Vernon Coaker: Information on the individual circumstances of offenders is not held on the Court Proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, therefore the requested information is unavailable.

Drug Interventions Programme

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) budget allocation is for each intensive DIP area in 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Over £500 million has been invested as part of the Drug Interventions Programme since its inception in 2003. Record numbers of offenders are entering treatment through the programme and drug related acquisitive crime has reduced substantially. The DIP Main Grant, which is the key mechanism for allocating budgets to areas, is being allocated to intensive areas as in the following table.
	
		
			  Indicative intensive area budgets 2007-08 
			   Amount (£) 
			  London  
			 Brent 1,203,160 
			 Camden 1,191,678 
			 Croydon 1,001,817 
			 Ealing 988,786 
			 Enfield 759,292 
			 Greenwich 827,205 
			 Hackney 1,513,524 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,118,469 
			 Haringey 1,243,541 
			 Hounslow 794,244 
			 Islington 1,333,277 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,008,137 
			 Lambeth 1,930,537 
			 Lewisham 1,378,639 
			 Newham 1,357,782 
			 Redbridge 663,812 
			 Southwark 1,655,389 
			 Tower Hamlets 1,415,658 
			 Waltham Forest 925,327 
			 Wandsworth 1,034,156 
			 Westminster 2,016,350 
			   
			  Yorkshire and Humber  
			 Barnsley 807,613 
			 Bradford 1,926,287 
			 Calderdale 685,101 
			 Doncaster 1,317,965 
			 Kingston upon Hull 1,422,020 
			 Kirklees 1,219,885 
			 Leeds 2,737,443 
			 North East Lincolnshire 914,255 
			 North Lincolnshire 786,869 
			 Rotherham 756,064 
			 Sheffield 2,348,164 
			 Wakefield 1 ,094,559 
			   
			  East Midlands  
			 Leicester 1,558,632 
			 Northamptonshire 1,034,269 
			 Nottingham 1,794,787 
			 Nottinghamshire 2,339,136 
			   
			  East of England  
			 Luton 700,528 
			 Peterborough 774,057 
			   
			  South West  
			 Bristol 2,448,659 
			  North East  
			 Gateshead 627,944 
			 Hartlepool 609,010 
			 Middlesbrough 1,022,237 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 1,290,574 
			 Stockton 688,901 
			 Sunderland 782,823 
			   
			  West Midlands  
			 Birmingham 5,287,239 
			 Coventry 900,865 
			 Dudley 723,448 
			 Sandwell 1,003,679 
			 Solihull 407,131 
			 Walsall 642,837 
			 Wolverhampton 826,579 
			   
			  North West  
			 Bolton 1,136,727 
			 Bury 552,298 
			 Liverpool 2,154,389 
			 Manchester 2,848,647 
			 Oldham 890,494 
			 Rochdale 778,885 
			 Salford 771,116 
			 Stockport 664,181 
			 Tameside 823,130 
			 Trafford 693,096 
			 Wigan 1,046,181 
			   
			  South East  
			 Oxfordshire 1,195,115 
			 Reading 1,106,837 
			 Slough 854,146

Drug Interventions Programme

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding was given to the Drug Interventions Programme in each year since 2003; and what funding he expects to allocate to the programme in each of the next three years.

Vernon Coaker: Funding for the Drug Interventions Programme for financial years 2003-04 to 2007-08 is in the table. Funding for the programme for future years will not be determined until later this financial year.
	
		
			  Drugs interventions programme funding: 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			   £ 
			 2003-04 47,000,000 
			 2004-05 122,000,000 
			 2005-06 162,000,000 
			 2006-07 172,000,000 
			 2007-08 149,000,000 
		
	
	These figures exclude capital and central administration costs.

Drug Interventions Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Drug Interventions Programme; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) is a key part of the Government's drug strategy. The programme's central objectives are to get drug misusing offenders out of crime and into treatment.
	The programme is meeting its objectives. On average over 3,500 drug misusing offenders are now entering drug treatment each month through the programme and the most recent published crime figures show that recorded acquisitive crime, to which drug-related crime makes a substantial contribution, has fallen by 20 per cent. since the onset of the Drug Interventions Programme (DIP) (the 12 months to March 2003).
	To supplement management data collected in respect of the programme and local evaluations, the Home Office is carrying out a research programme to assess the effectiveness of individual programme components. Findings to date are published on http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/onlinepubs1.html and further evaluations are expected to be published shortly.

Human Trafficking

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to co-ordinate policies on combating the trafficking of women.

Vernon Coaker: The UK published an Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking on the 23 March. The Action Plan has a dedicated chapter on protection and assistance to adult victims of trafficking and pulls together all the work that is currently under way across Government and sets out what else we plan to do.

Human Trafficking

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what initiatives his Department is taking to combat people trafficking.

Vernon Coaker: The UK published an Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking on 23 March. The Action Plan sets out proposals for action in the four key areas of prevention, enforcement and prosecution, protection and assistance to adult victims and child trafficking. It pulls together all the work that is currently under way across Government and sets out what else we plan to do.

Human Trafficking

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definitions of human trafficking are given in UK legislation.

Vernon Coaker: The UK ratified the United Nations Protocol to Prevent and Punish Trafficking in Persons on 9 February 2006 and uses the definition of trafficking set out in the Protocol. Legislation to comprehensively criminalise trafficking as defined in the Palermo Protocol was introduced by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which came into force on 1 May 2004, introducing wide-ranging offences covering trafficking into, out of or within the UK for any form of sexual offence. An offence, of 'trafficking for exploitation', which includes, for example, trafficking for forced labour and the removal of organs, is included in the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Act 2004.

K v. Parole Board

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice is being issued as a response to the case K  v. Parole Board [EWHC 2413].

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Guidance regarding the procedures for compiling and disclosing parole dossiers for adult prisoners is contained in Prison Service Order 6000 Chapter five and is available to those responsible for the compilation of parole dossiers on behalf of young offenders.
	The Youth Justice Board is working closely with the Parole Board in relation to children and young people who are subject to public protection sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and is disseminating appropriate information to staff working within the secure estate. As a result of this case the guidance is being re-visited to ascertain whether revisions are needed in respect of juveniles and young offenders

Leyhill Prison

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made to the categories of prisoners eligible to be transferred to HMP Leyhill; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Leyhill continues to take only category D prisoners.

Offensive Weapons: Convictions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were  (a) arrested for and  (b) convicted of carrying knives in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: Information on arrests for offences under section 139 (having an article with blade or point in public place) and 139A (having an article with blade or point on school premises) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (as amended by section 4(1) of the Offensive Weapons Act 1996) are not separately identifiable within the arrests collection held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The collection is based on persons arrested for recorded crime by main offence group only, for example violence against the person, robbery, burglary, or criminal damage.
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform showing the number of persons found guilty of offences related to the illegal possession of knives in public, for the years 2003-05, are provided in the attached table.
	Information for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts under Criminal Justice Act 1988, section 139 and section 139A( 1,2,3,4) , England and Wales 2003-05 
			   Found guilty 
			 2003 5,337 
			 2004 5,821 
			 2005 6,005 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Includes offence of possession of a knife or bladed article in a public place and possession of a knife or bladed article on school premises  (3) Data excludes prosecutions and convictions for West Mercia PFA for the offence of 'possession of a knife or bladed article on school premises', until clarification of these cases is obtained.  (4) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Prisoners Release: Greater London

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were released from prison on probation and subsequently returned to prison for breaking their conditions of probation in each London borough in each of the last five years, broken down by category of offence.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Figures on the numbers of prisoners recalled to prison since 2001 for breaching their licence conditions can be found in the following tables. Details of the original offence and the number of cases specifically within London boroughs are not held centrally and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
	
		
			  Recalls of determinate sentences( 1)( ) t aken from Table 10.8 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 , England and Wales 
			  Number of recalls/percentage 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Parole cases 4 years or more  
			 recalled 329 420 601 712 993 
			 as percentage of number on parole 11 13 17 17 21 
			  Non-parole cases 4 years or more  
			 recalled 526 712 1,087 1,172 (2)— 
			 All cases 1-4 years(3) 3,439 4,950 6,415 6,378 (2)— 
			 All cases 1 year plus(3) 4,369 6,323 8,133 8,262 8,678 
			 (1) Excluding Home Detention Curfew recalls (2) From 2005 ACR and OCR no longer collated separately (3) Data supplied by Public Protection and Licensed Release Unit of the Home Office 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 10.9 Recalls from life licence( 1)  t aken from Table 10.9 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 , England and Wales 
			  Number of recalls 
			   Life licence 
			 2001 30 
			 2002 26 
			 2003 44 
			 2004 71 
			 2005 111 
			 (1) Inmates whose licences have been revoked and were recalled to custody excluding abscondees. 
		
	
	
		
			  Home Detention Curfew recalls( 1,2)  t aken from Table 10.7 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 , England and Wales 
			   Number of recalls 
			 2001 673 
			 2002 1,479 
			 2003 2,716 
			 2004 3,003 
			 2005 2,627

Prisoners: Repatriation

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress his Department has made in discussions with other countries on the repatriation of their nationals from British prisons.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	Government have been negotiating a prisoner transfer agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between member states of the European Union. This agreement provides for the transfer of EU nationals to their State of nationality in which they normally live without the consent of the individual concerned. It also creates, for the first time, an obligation on a member state to accept back its nationals. In February the Government participated in a general approach on this agreement. Subject to its formal adoption later this year we expect the agreement to come into force in 2009.
	The Government intends to bring forward further amendments to the Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984, to enable the United Kingdom to ratify the Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons. The Additional Protocol provides for the transfer of a prisoner, without the consent of the individual concerned, where that prisoner would otherwise be deported at the end of the sentence. The Consent of the receiving State will still be required.
	Further, the Home Office is working to identify those countries with which we already have bilateral arrangements who may be willing to renegotiate these arrangements to remove the requirement for prisoners to consent to transfer. The consent of the receiving State would, however, still be required.

Public Service: Crimes of Violence

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) shop workers,  (b) hospital staff,  (c) bus drivers,  (d) firemen,  (e) police officers and  (f) other public sector workers were victims of violence at work in the last year for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: The British Crime Survey (BCS) defines violence at work as all assaults or threats, which occurred while the victim was working, that were perpetrated by members of the public. It is not possible for the BCS to provide estimates for the specific groups asked about due to small sample sizes but the latest available estimates for broader occupational groupings are shown in Table 1.
	
		
			  Table 1: Risk of violence at work, by occupation, 2003-04 and 2004-05 BCS interviews 
			  Percentage victims once or more  Assaults  Threats  All violence at work  Unweighted 
			 Protective service occupations(1) 8.8 1.2 9.7 460 
			 Managers and proprietors in agriculture and services 2.6 2.3 4.6 1,351 
			 Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives(2) 1.3 1.6 2.7 1,606 
			 Leisure and other personal service occupations 1.0 1.7 2.5 835 
			 Health and social welfare associate professionals (3) 1.1 1.4 2.5 1,683 
			 Health professionals(4) 0.4 2.3 2.3 345 
			 Business and public service professionals 0.4 1.3 1.7 1,044 
			 Sales occupations(5) 0.8 0.9 1.6 2,572 
			 Corporate managers 0.6 0.9 1.4 4,730 
			 Elementary administration and service occupations 0.8 0.6 1.4 3,269 
			 Teaching and research professionals 0.8 0.6 1.3 2,045 
			 Customer service occupations 0.3 0.9 1.1 581 
			 Caring personal service occupations 0.5 0.4 0.8 2,509 
			 Business and public service associate professionals 0.2 0.5 0.7 2,103 
			 Skilled metal and electrical trades 0.2 0.3 0.5 1,846 
			 Textiles, printing and other skilled trades 0.5 0.1 0.5 838 
			 Administrative occupations 0.1 0.4 0.5 3,943 
			 Science and technology associate professionals — 0.5 0.5 699 
			 Elementary trades, plant and storage-related occupations 0.2 0.2 0.4 1,691 
			 Secretarial and related occupations 0.2 0.4 0.4 1,234 
			 Culture, media and sports occupations 0.1 0.3 0.4 798 
			 Science and technology professionals 0.1 0.4 0.4 1,231 
			 Skilled construction and building trades 0.2 0.1 0.3 1,636 
			 Process, plant and machine operatives (6)<0.1 0.3 0.3 1,543 
			 Skilled agricultural trades — — — 427 
			 All adults of working age in employment 0.6 0.7 1.3 41,019 
			 (1) Protective service occupations include NCOs and other ranks, police officers, fire service officers, prison service officers and protective service associate professionals n.e.c.  (2) Transport and mobile machine drivers and operators include heavy goods vehicle drivers, van drivers, bus and coach drivers, taxi, cab drivers and chauffeurs, driving instructors, rail transport operatives, seafarers, barge, lighter and boat operatives, air transport operatives, transport operatives n.e.c., crane drivers, fork-lift truck drivers, agricultural machinery drivers and mobile machine drivers and operatives n.e.c.  (3) Health and social welfare associate professionals include nurses, midwives, paramedics, medical radiographers, chiropodists, dispensing opticians, pharmaceutical dispensers, medical and dental technicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, Speech and language therapists, therapists n.e.c., youth and community workers and Housing and welfare officers.  (4) Health professionals include medical practitioners, psychologists, pharmacists/pharmacologists, ophthalmic opticians, dental practitioners and veterinarians.  (5) Sales occupations include sales and retail assistants, retail cashiers and check-out operators, telephone salespersons, collector salespersons and credit agents, debt, rent and other cash collectors, roundsmen/women and van salespersons, market and street traders and assistants, merchandisers and window dressers and sales related occupations n.e.c.  (6) <0.1 denotes a value under 0.05. Indicates there were no cases in the sample.   Source:  Table A.2.7 from supplementary tables to Home Office online report 04-04 Violence at Work: Findings from the 2002-03 British Crime Survey.

Violence

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to develop a strategic framework to address violence against women.

Vernon Coaker: The Government takes a strategic approach to addressing violence against women, through linked Plans on domestic violence (including forced marriage and honour-based violence), sexual violence and trafficking. Strategic work on sexual and domestic violence will be further integrated over the coming year, with a view to developing a co-ordinated community response to these crimes.

Weapons

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) confiscations of handguns and  (b) convictions for the possession of handguns there were in each police authority area in each of the last eight years.

Vernon Coaker: Due to the way in which offences have been categorized, it is not possible to separately identify those firearm offences that specifically relate to handguns.

Written Questions

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to answer Question 129914, on education in prisons, tabled on 22nd March by the hon. Member for Taunton.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	A response was issued to the hon. Member on 10 May 2007,  Official  R eport, column 439W.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan: Peace Keeping Operations

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in Afghanistan.

Des Browne: The security situation in Afghanistan remains stable if fragile in places. UK forces as part of the wider ISAF mission are actively engaged in operations to extend the authority of the Government of Afghanistan across Helmand province.

Armed Forces: Airports

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will undertake a comprehensive airfield review.

Adam Ingram: The number and operation of military airfields is under review to ensure that the best use is made of the defence estate for our armed forces.

Armed Forces: Housing

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean of 7 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1981W, on armed forces housing, which Housing Directorate regions collected and managed the information in respect of maintenance and refurbishment of properties leased from Annington Homes in each year since 5 November 1996.

Derek Twigg: When the Defence Housing Executive (DHE) was formed in 1995, it was arranged into 25 areas, 23 of which were in England and Wales, the area covered by the Annington Homes Ltd contract. When DHE became a Ministry of Defence agency in 1999, the number of areas reduced to 19 and they were grouped into nine regions, eight of them in England and Wales.
	As an agency, DHE's annual reports and accounts were published and a copy of each placed in the Library of the House. The reports included details of the regions in existence at that time, in England and Wales there were Northern, West, Central, Anglia, London, South West, South and South East.
	In April 2004, DHE merged with Defence Estates (DE), another MOD agency and, as of 1 April 2007, the number of regions in England and Wales reduced from eight to six to match the regions of the Housing Prime Contract—the contract to maintain service families accommodation in England and Wales.
	Each of the six regions is served by DE housing information centres, located in Warminster, Aldershot, High Wycombe, Thetford, Telford and York. Details of these regions are not included in DE's annual report and accounts.

Armed Forces: Mass Media

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the independently-led review of media access to serving personnel referred to in his oral statement of 16 April and his written statement of 24 April  (a) has been requested and  (b) has given any indication that it intends (i) to establish and (ii) to publish the details of the circumstances in which identified individuals took the decision to allow some sailors to sell their stories to the media.

Des Browne: holding answer 14 May 2007
	As I set out in my statements on 16 and 24 April, the independently-led review is designed to be forward-looking, identifying lessons and making recommendations drawing on relevant experience. I have also made clear that the review is not intended to be a witch hunt, and that I accept responsibility for this particular case.
	In order to identify lessons and make recommendations for the future, the review will clearly need to consider the circumstances concerned in this and other cases.
	I expect to publish the review's report once it is available.

Armed Forces: Training

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of training exercises were cancelled in 2006-07.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 May 2007
	During the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, 9.38 per cent. of training events recorded on the Defence Exercise Programme were cancelled.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) SA-80 rifles,  (b) 105 mm light guns and  (c) armoured vehicles, broken down by type are (i) required and (ii) available for training.

Adam Ingram: Officials are currently compiling information from a range of sources and this will take some time to complete. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Armed Forces: Welfare Support

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what professional qualifications are held by the full-time staff who direct specialist welfare support for service personnel and their dependent families; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many uniformed, professionally qualified, full-time staff in the  (a) Army,  (b) Royal Navy,  (c) Royal Air Force and  (d) Tri-Service specialise in providing welfare support for service personnel and their dependent families; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: All full-time staff who direct specialist welfare support for service personnel and their dependant families are registered social workers. The numbers of full-time professionally qualified uniformed staff who are providing support for service personnel are as follows:
	Navy—19 uniformed registered social workers, all of whom hold a minimum qualification of a Diploma in social work.
	Army—66 uniformed qualified specialist welfare workers, all of whom have to attend a seven month initial training course, credited by the Open University, that leads to a certificate in social and occupational welfare.
	RAF—the RAF contract out their welfare service to SSAFA FH; they employ personnel who are registered social workers.

Army Board: Cost Effectiveness

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the annual running costs of the  (a) households and  (b) offices of non-ministerial members of the Army Board were last audited.

Derek Twigg: The Defence Internal Audit Team carried out an audit on all Official Service Residences in 2003.
	All costs incurred by the offices of non-ministerial members of the Army Board are subject to scrutiny and approval in accordance with procedures set out in Government Accounting. Records indicate that there have been no formal audits conducted of expenditure incurred by these offices in the recent past.

Army: Costs

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2007,  Official Report, column 50W, on the Army: costs, what the reasons were for the amount spent on maintenance of the property occupied by the Commander in Chief Land, broken down by main budget heading.

Derek Twigg: The figure previously provided under the generic heading "maintenance" covered a range of costs including the supply of replacement equipment, redecoration and the rectification of faults. A breakdown of the costs is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Description of maintenance  Cost (£) 
			 Legionella Water Sampling 476 
			 Property Repairs 399 
			 Toilet Repairs 118 
			 Electric Faults 46 
			 Internal Light Faults 339 
			 Boiler Repair 581 
			 Oven Repairs 93 
			 External Security Light Repairs 92 
			 Electrical Works 1,820 
			 Tap Repairs 9 
			 Fence Repairs 228 
			 Renew Taps 205 
			 Repair Cooker 125 
			 Repair Fire Alarm 102 
			 Automatic Gates Repair 70 
			 New Cooker 479 
			 New Freezer 357 
			 Decorate Breakfast Room 600 
			 Escape Lighting 674 
			 New Food Processor 169 
			 New Bathroom Mats 46 
			 Bedding and Towels 188 
			 2 Stools for Kitchen 35 
			 Glassware 224 
			 Total 7,475

Army: Manpower

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 142W, on the Army: manpower, what the differences are between the roles of a mess steward and a mess supervisor.

Derek Twigg: A mess steward is employed as a waiter, barman or to undertake general mess duties. Mess supervisor is a more senior position, which includes line management and accounting responsibilities.

Army: Manpower

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to review the Army manpower target.

Adam Ingram: The Army manpower target, as with the other services, is kept under regular review. During the departmental planning process, the requirements of all three services are reviewed and amended if approved, to ensure that we have the right numbers of people to deliver current and future outputs. The requirements of all three services are then approved by Ministers and the Defence Management Board. This process has just been completed for Defence Programme (DP) 2007 and will occur again in Planning Round 2008.

Army: Official Residences

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what sporting facilities are available at the residences paid for by his Department of the  (a) Adjutant General,  (b) Chief of the General Staff,  (c) General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland and  (d) Commander in Chief Land.

Derek Twigg: The residence occupied by the Adjutant General has a grass tennis court.
	There are no sporting facilities at the residences occupied by the Chief of the General Staff, General Officer Commanding Northern Ireland and the Commander in Chief Land.

Bridges

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many quick construction bridges are stock-piled for civil contingencies and emergencies; and what estimate he has made of the number required.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 15 May 200 7
	The MOD does not hold stocks of quick construction bridges (or any other commodity) specifically for civil contingencies or emergencies. However, it does hold a variety of combat and logistic support bridging that could be loaned to assist civil authorities if requested.

Chief of Defence Materiel

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what foreign visits have been made by the Chief of Defence Materiel since January 2005.

Derek Twigg: The post of Chief of Defence Materiel was established on 2 April 2007. Since that date the Chief of Defence Materiel has made two foreign visits in an official capacity. Between 15-21 April, he visited the United States for a 4/5 Powers Conference. Between 24-25 April he visited Brussels for a Conference of National Armaments Directors meeting.

Defence Export Services Organisation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2007,  Official Report, columns 960-1W, on the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO), how much has been spent by his Department on appealing against the decision by the Information Commissioner to release a copy of the 2004 edition of the DESO staff directory since the end of January 2007; and what fees have been paid for work to outside counsel and the Treasury Solicitor's Department since the end of January 2007.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 14 May 2007
	The fees paid to outside Counsel and Treasury Solicitors Department from the 1 February 2007 to 27 April 2007, when the case concluded are as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (£) 
			 Fees for work by Counsel 26,589.08 
			 Fees for work by Treasury Solicitor's Department 29,881.43 
			 Total (inclusive of VAT) 56,470.51 
		
	
	Further costs may be attributed to this case, but have not yet been submitted.
	As I explained in my reply of 23 February 2007,  Official Report, column 961W, work has been carried out by staff from a number of areas within the Ministry of Defence and it is not possible to attribute costs specifically relating to this appeal.

Defence Medical Services: Consultants

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Defence Medical Services consultants are  (a) not currently employed in consultant posts and  (b) in consultant posts which will end within six months to whom no subsequent consultant appointment has been offered.

Derek Twigg: holding answer 26 April 2007
	 As at 1 January 2007, there were 20 Primary and Secondary Care Defence Medical Services Consultants who were working out of their particular speciality. These consultants are working in posts (e.g. in headquarters) that require consultant accreditation but not within a particular speciality.
	The geographical location of a consultant's appointment—where they carry out their clinical work—is independent of the location of the funding for the post. The funding for these two posts remains in the budget of Portsmouth Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit (MDHU).
	There are two consultants currently in consultant appointments which will end within the next six months. One of these appointments is a locum position, which is due to end in the next six months. An alternative appointment is being sought for this consultant. The other appointment relates to a consultant who will be starting refresher training in the near future. This consultant will be re-appointed once training is complete.

Defence: Research

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent on defence research and development in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: This information can be found in Table 1.7 of UK Defence Statistics, the MOD's annual statistical compendium, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

Hercules Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who in his Department was responsible for  (a) writing the specification for the fitting of explosive suppressant foam to UK Hercules aircraft and  (b) liaising between the contractors to ensure the most efficient working practices; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Hercules integrated project team (IPT): part of defence equipment and support, in conjunction with Air Command and the equipment capability customer, was responsible for writing the specification for fitting explosion suppressant foam to the RAF's Hercules aircraft. The Hercules IPT is responsible for ensuring that the contract specifications are completed within the agreed timeframe.

HMS Sussex: Gold

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what value of gold has been recovered from HMS Sussex.

Derek Twigg: The excavation of what is believed to be HMS Sussex has not yet taken place.

HMS Temeraire

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to dispose of the site of HMS Temeraire; and whether the site is included in the Naval Base Review.

Derek Twigg: HMS Temeraire is being considered as part of the Naval Base Review (NBR), which is examining a number of options to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to support the Royal Navy in the future. Work on the NBR is continuing and no final conclusions have been reached.

Iran: Detainees

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) 5.56 mm and  (b) 9 mm rounds were carried by each of the 15 service personnel detained by the Iranians in March 2007.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 24 April 2007,  Official Report, column 1015W. It would be inappropriate for me to comment until Lieutenant General Fulton's inquiry is complete.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps will be taken to replace the UK helicopters involved in a collision north of Baghdad on 14 April 2007.

Adam Ingram: At the time of the accident on 14 April 2007, a scheduled roulement of aircraft was being conducted in Iraq. As a result of the accident, and in order to minimise the capability gap, one aircraft due to return to the UK as part of this roulement was extended in theatre to provide partial cover for the shortfall. The remaining shortfall is being covered by management of the fleet in theatre until a replacement airframe is sent from Joint Helicopter Command's UK holdings, expected to be on 17 May 2007.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British military personnel serving in  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan (i) were casevacced from theatre, (ii) were injured by enemy action and (iii) have sustained life-changing injuries since 1 January 2006.

Des Browne: The MOD is committed to publishing statistics on the number of service personnel killed and injured on operations. Casualty and fatality figures for Iraq and Afghanistan are published on the MOD website:
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/FactSheets/OperationsFactsheets
	Casualty figures are updated two weekly, in arrears.
	For operations in Iraq, between 1 January 2006 and 15 April 2007, 866 UK military or civilian personnel were evacuated for medical reasons. Over the same period, 164 UK military or civilian personnel have been admitted to UK Field Hospitals classified as wounded in action, of whom 24 were listed as Very Seriously Injured or Wounded and 34 were Seriously Injured or Wounded.
	For operations in Afghanistan, between 1 January 2006 and 15 April 2007, 367 UK military or civilian personnel were evacuated for medical reasons. Over the same period, 132 UK military or civilian personnel have been admitted to UK Field Hospitals classified as wounded in action, of whom 18 were listed as Very Seriously Injured or Wounded and 16 were Seriously Injured or Wounded.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the outcome was of the investigation into the shooting of demonstrators for jobs at Al-Amarah in January 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: Members of the 1st Battalion of the Light Infantry deployed to a riot in Al-Amarah on 10 January 2004 to assist the Iraqi police. Two Iraqis were shot by UK forces, one of whom died. Both were preparing to throw grenades, having already thrown other grenades or explosive devices at UK vehicles, and were a threat to our forces and to local Iraqi civilians.
	In accordance with standard procedures, the incident was assessed by the local British commander who concluded that UK forces acted fully within the Rules of Engagement.

Mercenaries: Iraq

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training in human rights legislation was given to  (a) UK troops and  (b) private military companies engaged by the UK before they commenced activities in Iraq; and whether private military companies operating at the request of the UK Government are regarded as public authorities for the purpose of the Human Rights Act 1998.

Des Browne: holding answer 23 April 2007
	 Prior to deploying on operations, all armed forces personnel are given training which includes Law of Armed Conflict and theatre-specific operational law and cultural awareness briefings. Once personnel have deployed, an in-theatre briefing is delivered which reinforces the previous training and updates them on any subsequent developments.
	The MOD has not employed any private military or security companies in Iraq and therefore has not been involved in the delivery of training to their personnel, or in determining their status in respect to the Human Rights Act 1998.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what types of helicopter are on order for  (a) the Royal Navy,  (b) the Royal Air Force and  (c) the Army.

Adam Ingram: On 30 March 2007 Secretary of State for Defence announced the intention to acquire six Merlin helicopters from Denmark and the modification of eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters to a support helicopter role.
	In addition, the number of helicopters currently on order (defined as contract placed but aircraft not yet delivered) are:
	
		
			   Royal Navy  British Army  Royal Air Force 
			 Future Lynx 30 40 — 
			 Upgrades to Merlin Mkl 30 — — 
			 Conversion of Ex Republic of South Africa Puma   2 a/c delivered 
			2 a/c still to be delivered this year 
		
	
	There are also some other helicopters on order, information on the number and type of which I am withholding as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.

Navy: Land

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions  (a) the Royal Navy and  (b) the Defence Property Agency have had with Portsmouth university about disposals of departmental (i) land and (ii) property; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: Neither the Royal Navy nor Defence Estates have had discussions recently with Portsmouth university about the disposal of land or property owned by the Department.

Nimrod Aircraft

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the initial findings of the Royal Air Force board of inquiry into the loss of the Nimrod XV230 over Kandahar Province in Afghanistan in September 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: The Board of Inquiry continues to work to determine the cause of the accident involving Nimrod MR2 XV230 on 2 September 2006. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment at this stage. The findings of the Board will be released as soon as possible after conclusion of the Inquiry; a redacted copy of the report will be made available to the next of kin, other interested parties and placed on the MOD website.

Nuclear Weapons Treaties

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 67, to the hon. Member for Gower, on nuclear weapons treaties, which of the nuclear weapons reductions since 1998 have taken place as a result of multilateral disarmament negotiations.

Des Browne: The disarmament measures undertaken by the UK, which I referred to in my answer of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 67W, were pertinent to our obligations towards achieving the general and complete disarmament objectives of Article VI of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, a multilaterally negotiated treaty. None of the measures have taken place as a result of any separate multilateral disarmament negotiations. The UK has for many years retained only the minimum nuclear capabilities we require and as a result we have the smallest stockpile of any of the nuclear weapon states recognised under the NPT. We believe it will only be useful for us to include our deterrent in multinational negotiations once further progress has been made in reducing global nuclear stockpiles. The UK remains committed to progress in multilateral disarmament and plays a strong role in all the relevant forums.

RAF Dishforth

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the long-term future of Dishforth Airfield.

Adam Ingram: We are currently reviewing our long-term requirements for all the UK's military helicopter bases under Project Belvedere. It is too early to say what the outcome of this study will be and what, if any, impact this will have on Dishforth Airfield. An announcement will be made in the House when we are able to say more.

RAF Dishforth: Lynx Helicopters

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  when he expects the Lynx helicopter fleet to move to Dishforth airfield;
	(2)  when he expects the Lynx helicopters to be deployed at Dishforth airfield.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 9 March 2007,  Official Report, column 153WS, in which I advised that we expect the swap of the two Apache squadrons from Dishforth and the two Lynx helicopter squadrons from Wattisham to take place sometime between June and September of this year.

RAF Leeming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the communications hub to open at RAF Leeming.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 5WS, and my letter to her of the same date, that the build up of the A6 communications hub at RAF Leeming has already commenced. The initial move was successfully completed on time in April 2006. We expect that the relocation of communications personnel to the RAF Leeming hub will be complete in 2009.

RAF Leeming

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the communications hub at RAF Leeming to come into effect.

Adam Ingram: The hon. Member will be aware from my written statement of 8 May 2007,  Official Report, column 5WS and my letter of the same date that the build up of the A6 communications hub at RAF Leeming has already commenced. The initial move has been successfully completed on time in April 2006. We expect that the relocation of communications personnel to the RAF Leeming hub will be complete in 2009.

Veterans Day

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many queries the service personnel and veterans agency has received about National Veterans Day 2007.

Derek Twigg: The Service Personnel and Veterans Agency does not keep records of the number of inquiries received relating specifically to Veterans Day 2007.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Modern Slavery

Lyn Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to encourage his international counterparts to abolish modern forms of slavery.

John Prescott: Sadly, the slave trade and slavery did not end with the passing of Acts of Parliament in 1807 and 1833. Human beings are still sold, abused and forced to work against their will. This Government are taking action to tackle these modern forms of slavery, both at home and internationally.
	On 27 March, we launched a worldwide lobbying campaign on the ratification and implementation of international standards that prohibit slavery.
	I have been holding discussions with key UN and other international organisations on what further steps might be taken at the international level.
	The House will be aware that, on 23 March, the Government signed the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings. We are now examining what changes might be required to our procedures and legislation to ensure we can fulfil all our obligations and implement the provisions effectively. We will then move towards ratification as soon as we can.
	We also published a UK Action Plan which sets out the work we have undertaken and how we plan to take forward this work.
	Above all, we are providing essential financial support to end the slavery of ignorance, which blights the lives of so many children around the world: including £8.5 billion on the Education for Every Child initiative, to secure better futures for children across the world.

Animal Rights Activists

David Taylor: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to oversee and co-ordinate Government policy in relation to animal rights activists.

John Prescott: I refer the hon. Member to answer I gave to the hon. Member for Oxford, West and Abingdon (Dr. Harris) earlier today.

China

Ben Chapman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent visit to China.

John Prescott: I have just returned from my tenth visit to China in 10 years. While there I met with Premier Wen Jiabao, State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan and Mayor Han Zheng of Shanghai.
	We discussed a range of international and bilateral issues including foreign policy priorities, co-operation on tackling climate change, and the development of sustainable cities.
	Among a range of further engagements, I gave a keynote speech at the World Cities Forum in Shanghai, spoke at the China Council for International Co-operation on Environment and Development conference on a low carbon economy, visited a UK engineering firm, addressed a seminar on risk management and hosted a reception to launch the next phase of our sustainable development dialogue with China.

China

Angela Smith: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action is being taken by the China taskforce to improve operation between the UK and China.

John Prescott: With its Chinese counterpart, chaired by State Councillor Tang Jiaxuan, the taskforce represents a shared commitment to furthering bilateral relations, and to enhancing cooperation across an increasingly wide range of joint interests.
	Key achievements arising from taskforce recommendations have included the establishment of annual UK-China prime ministerial summits, greater co-operation across five key areas of trade, an increased number of exchanges between UK and Chinese universities, proposals to simplify Chinese student visa arrangements and to introduce annual UK-China education summits, the signing of a UK-China sustainable development dialogue and the development of a UK-China working group on climate change.
	When I met them in China last month, both Premier Wen and State Councillor Tang praised the work of the China taskforce, commenting that the UK-China relationship is closer than ever.

European Policy

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last met the Minister for Europe to co-ordinate Government policy on Europe.

John Prescott: In addition to discussions in Cabinet and Cabinet committee meetings, I maintain regular dialogue with ministerial colleagues in respect of my international duties.